Qatar Denies Iran’s Claim That Three Iranian Pilots Are Being Held
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Doha (Terror Monitor) — Qatar has denied an Iranian claim that three Iranian pilots are being held in Qatari custody, saying it was surprised by what it described as misleading statements amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions in the region.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, said Qatari authorities had contacted the Iranian pilots in March after they violated Qatari airspace and sought to verify their intended flight path.
According to Al Ansari, when the pilots failed to respond to communications, Qatar took defensive action in accordance with the laws governing armed conflicts and international law.
He said Qatari search-and-rescue teams subsequently conducted an operation to locate the pilots. The body of one pilot was recovered, and the Qatari government contacted Tehran regarding the transfer of the remains to Iran.
The Qatari statement came after Iranian officials claimed that three Iranian pilots had been captured and were being held by Qatari forces.
Brig. Gen. Mohammad Bagherzadeh, head of a committee within Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff tasked with locating missing personnel, reportedly appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for assistance in determining the whereabouts and status of the three pilots.
According to Iranian officials, two Su-24 fighter aircraft had departed on March 2, 2026, for a mission targeting what they described as an “enemy military base” in Qatar. They claimed that the aircraft came under hostile action while returning after completing their mission, affecting four Iranian pilots.
Iranian authorities said the remains of one of the pilots, Majid Kazemi, were later transferred to Iran and that he was buried in Shiraz on July 29.
Bagherzadeh claimed that the other three pilots — Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Imran Bahrouzian — survived and were captured by Qatari forces.
Iranian officials and state media had previously referred to efforts to determine the status of the three pilots, but no conclusive information about their whereabouts had been made public.
Qatar’s latest statement directly contradicts the Iranian claim, with Doha denying that the three pilots are in Qatari custody.
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