Iran has officially confirmed that three missing Iranian military pilots are being held captive by Qatar after their aircraft were shot down during wartime operations. According to Tasnim News Agency, Baqer Zadeh, head of the missing persons committee at Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, announced on Saturday that the pilots were alive and had been held by Qatari forces for approximately six months. Zadeh identified the pilots as Javad Salehi, Abdol-Majid Dashtian and Emran Behrushian, who were flying Su-24 fighter jets when their aircraft were shot down while carrying out strikes against an enemy military base in Qatar. As per Tasnim News Agency, Iran's military first announced the pilots' disappearance earlier this month, stating their aircraft went down on March 2 after being hit during the mission, with their fate initially unknown. The latest confirmation represents a significant escalation in the dispute, with Tehran now claiming the pilots are being prevented from meeting, being interviewed, or communicating with their families and Iranian officials handling the matter.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Mohammed Al-Ansari dismissed the allegations, stating that Qatar's search-and-rescue teams had recovered the remains of one pilot after the aircraft were shot down, as reported by NDTV Profit and The Times of Israel. Al Ansari said Qatar had attempted to contact the pilots after they allegedly violated Qatari airspace but received no response. He said Qatar then acted under its rules of engagement to defend its territory, describing the claims as 'misleading statements' and expressing surprise at these statements during ongoing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions. "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. 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 dispute stems from Qatar's air force shooting down two Iranian bombers on March 2 during the opening days of the war, when Tehran lashed out against countries hosting U.S. military bases.
Iran has escalated its diplomatic efforts by formally approaching international bodies for assistance. As per Tasnim News Agency, Iran's Tasnim news agency published a copy of a letter Tehran sent to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) asking it to assist in securing the pilots' release. The ICRC has not yet responded to Iran's request for assistance. The new accusation comes amid continued tensions in the Persian Gulf and an intensifying war of words between senior Iranian officials and U.S. President Donald Trump. At a rally in New York on Friday, Trump said that "after we defeat Iran" he intended to declare the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which Iran has disrupted tanker traffic since the war began, "American territory." This represents the first known instance in the conflict where Tehran has publicly accused another regional country of holding its missing military personnel, as reported by The Times of Israel.
The dispute represents the first known instance in the conflict where Tehran has publicly accused another regional country of holding its missing military personnel, according to NDTV Profit and The Times of Israel. The tensions come amid renewed violence and heightened tensions across the Middle East, with the UAE accusing Iran of attacking an ADNOC-operated oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday evening. This marks the third attack involving an ADNOC vessel within a week, with no injuries reported but the United Arab Emirates calling on Iran to stop the unprovoked strikes. Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported that a bulk carrier was struck by an unidentified projectile on Friday, though it was not immediately clear if it was the same vessel. Iran asserted control over the strait after the war started on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes, with about one-fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas passing through the waterway before then. The latest Iranian claims mark a significant escalation in the dispute over the pilots' fate, with Tehran alleging they survived and were captured, while Qatar says its search teams recovered the remains of one pilot.
