Qatar on Saturday denied Iranian claims that its forces were holding three Iranian military pilots captured after their fighter jets were downed during a March operation, saying the allegations were misleading and came at a sensitive time amid efforts to ease regional tensions.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Mohammed Al-Ansari said authorities had attempted to contact the pilots after they allegedly violated Qatari airspace but received no response. Qatar then acted under its rules of engagement to defend its territory, he said. “We categorically deny the claims that have been circulated regarding the detention of Iranian pilots, and we are surprised by these misleading statements at this specific timing,” Al-Ansari said in a post on X.
Al-Ansari said Qatari search and rescue teams subsequently searched for the pilots and later coordinated with Iran to hand over the remains of one pilot who was found. “Qatari search and rescue teams, which possess global efficiency and expertise, fulfilled their duty to the fullest in searching for the pilots' remains,” he said.
Qatar also said it had invited an Iranian team in April to examine the details of its search and rescue operations, but claimed Tehran had not responded to the invitation. “Additionally, an invitation was extended for a team to visit and learn about the details of the search and rescue operations last April, to which the Iranian side has not responded to date,” Al-Ansari said.
The Qatari statement came after Iranian media reported that three pilots were captured alive by Qatari forces after ejecting from two Iranian Su-24 fighter jets during a mission targeting a US military facility in Qatar. According to Fars News Agency, General Mohammad Bagherzadeh, commander of the Search Committee for the Missing of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, identified the pilots as Javad Salehi, Abdol-Majid Dashtian and Emran Behrushian. He claimed they had been held by Qatari forces for six months and called for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be given access to them. Iranian state news agency IRNA had also cited a senior military official making the claim that three pilots had been captured alive.
The claims relate to the wider regional conflict that began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, prompting Iranian retaliation against targets in Israel and US military facilities across the Gulf. Iranian forces targeted the US military presence at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which hosts forward components of US Central Command, including its air forces and special operations forces. The facility is the largest US military base in the region.
Qatar said the Iranian pilots entered its airspace during the operation and failed to respond to attempts by Qatari authorities to establish contact. Al-Ansari said Qatar subsequently took “the necessary measures” to defend its territory in accordance with international law. Iran had previously described some of the pilots involved in the incident as missing. Iran's army said last month that it had recovered the body of Iranian pilot Majid Kazemi, who was killed during an attack on Al Udeid in early March.
The latest Iranian claims, therefore, mark a significant escalation in the dispute over the fate of the pilots, with Tehran alleging they survived and were captured, while Qatar says its search teams recovered the remains of one pilot. The allegations come against the backdrop of continuing diplomatic efforts to prevent another escalation in the region. Fighting that began in late February was followed by an April ceasefire and subsequent attempts to establish a framework for peace talks, although those efforts later collapsed. A lull in fighting has been in place since late July.
