Qatar rejected Iran’s account that three pilots were captured alive after two fighter jets crashed during the regional conflict. Majed Al Ansari, adviser to Qatar’s prime minister and spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, described the claims as misleading in a statement posted on the X platform on Saturday.
Al Ansari said they found it surprising that the statements had resurfaced at a time when diplomatic efforts to ease regional tensions were continuing.
Qatar’s statement on the pilots
Al Ansari said Qatari authorities tried to communicate with the Iranian pilots after the aircraft violated the country’s airspace and the approach route of the attack was identified. Qatar said that after the rules of engagement were applied and attempts to contact the pilots proved unsuccessful, it took the necessary measures to defend its territory in accordance with international law.
Qatar said the incident had been clarified through official channels at the time. Qatari search-and-rescue teams later worked to locate the pilots’ bodies.
Al Ansari said Doha coordinated with Tehran over the handover of the body of one pilot that had been recovered and that the process was carried out within the framework of international humanitarian law. Qatar also invited an Iranian team to the country in April to provide information about the search-and-rescue operation, but Iran has not yet responded to the invitation.
Iran’s account
Mohammad Bagherzadeh, head of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons at the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, claimed in a letter to Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, that three pilots were captured alive after two Su-24 fighter jets were shot down during attacks on a military base in Qatar.
Bagherzadeh claimed that one of the pilots, Majid Kazemi, had died, while Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behrouzian had been captured alive. He also accused Qatar of violating the pilots’ rights under the Geneva Conventions by preventing them from communicating with their families and Iranian officials.
The Committee for the Search for Missing Persons in Iran asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to meet with the pilots allegedly held in Qatar, provide Tehran with information about their condition and facilitate their release.
Conflicting statements
The incident occurred when Iran carried out an attack on a military base in Qatar during the regional conflict. Tehran said two Su-24 fighter jets were shot down by air-defense systems during the operation.
Qatar, meanwhile, maintains that it searched for the pilots’ bodies, coordinated with Iran over the handover of one body that was recovered and invited an Iranian team in April to take part in the search-and-rescue efforts.
