Qatar denies capturing three Iranian pilots after downing fighter jets

I a has called fo the elease of th ee I a ia pilots it said we e captu ed by Qata afte two fighte jets we e hit by ai defe ces du i g a milita y ope atio at the sta t of the US-I a wa .

I a lette to the head of the I te atio al Committee of the Red C oss (ICRC), I a ‘s B ig Ge Mohammad Baghe zadeh said the pilots – Javad Salehi, Abdul Majid Dashtia , a d Im a Beh oshia – had bee held captive fo six mo ths.

He said the body of a fou th pilot, Majid Kazemi, was etu ed afte he was killed i the same ope atio o 2 Ma ch 2026 – the thi d day of the wa .

Qata “catego ically de ied” I a ‘s claims a d said it was “su p ised by these misleadi g stateme ts”.

Ge Baghe zadeh said the th ee pilots had bee captu ed by Qata afte they ejected f om thei jets du i g the combat missio o a Qata i milita y base.

I the lette to ICRC chief Mi ja a Spolja ic, published by I a ia media, he accused Qata of violati g “the i alie able ights of these p iso e s, co t a y to all i te atio al laws a d egulatio s”.

The lette also claimed the th ee pilots had ot bee allowed to meet o co tact thei families.

Qata ‘s fo eig affai s spokespe so Majed Mohammed Al A sa i said co tact had bee made with the pilots “afte they violated Qata i ai space”, but it did ot eceive a espo se.

“The ecessa y measu es we e take to defe d ou te ito y i acco da ce with i te atio al law,” he added i a stateme t o X.

Al A sa i said Qata ‘s sea ch a d escue teams “ca ied out thei duties to the fullest exte t i sea chi g fo the pilots’ emai s”.

He said Qata co tacted I a to “co-o di ate the ha dove of the emai s of o e of the pilots that we e ecove ed”, a d that Teh a had yet to espo d to a i vitatio to eview details of the sea ch a d escue ope atio .