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Qatar denies detained pilots
Qatar denied Iran’s claims that three Iranian bomber pilots are being held in secret detention after their aircraft were downed during hostilities earlier this year, with Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari saying, “We are surprised by the misleading statements regarding the Iranian pilots amid the continuation of diplomatic efforts.”
“We are surprised by the misleading statements regarding the Iranian pilots”
Al Jazeera reported that Doha said its forces are not holding any surviving aircrew and that Qatari air defence forces established contact with the aircraft after an unauthorised breach of Qatari airspace in March, then engaged the targets after receiving no response to warnings.
Iran’s armed forces said in a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross that three pilots—Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behraveshian—were captured alive after their Su-24 warplanes crashed in March, and that they had been held incommunicado for six months without access to their families or diplomatic representatives.
The dispute centers on a March incident in which Qatar’s Defence Ministry reported shooting down two Iranian Sukhoi Su-24 bombers, described by Al Jazeera as coming during an attack on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which hosts U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) personnel.
Iran had previously acknowledged that one pilot was killed and others were missing following their mission to Qatar, while Qatar confirmed that search and rescue teams later recovered the remains of one pilot, Majid Kazemi, and coordinated with Iranian authorities for the repatriation of his body.
Iran demands ICRC access
Iran’s Missing Persons Search Committee said in a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross that “Three Iranian pilots were captured alive by Qatari forces after the Su-24 fighter jets crashed during the March attacks,” and it urged the ICRC to “interview the Iranian pilots in Qatar as soon as possible.”
Anadolu Ajansı also reported that Mohammad Bagherzadeh said the pilots were among four aboard two fighter jets that went down during the war with the US and Israel, with Bagherzadeh adding that the pilots ejected on their return after being hit by enemy air defences.
Qatar rejected the claim, with Majed Al Ansari telling X that Doha was “surprised by these misleading statements” amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions, while also saying Qatari forces established contact after the pilots violated Qatar’s airspace.
AP described the dispute as the first known case in the war where Iran said a regional country is holding its fighters, and it said Qatar denied the allegation after previously saying it had no information about the pilots’ fate.
AP further reported that Qatar said it invited Iran in April to visit and be briefed on search-and-rescue efforts, with no response, while Iran said Qatar had not allowed the pilots to meet or communicate with families or Iranian officials handling their cases.
Strait of Hormuz stakes
The pilot dispute is unfolding alongside renewed friction over the Strait of Hormuz, where United States President Donald Trump told an audience in New York that Iran was being “very badly defeated” and suggested he would “pretty soon be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.”
“pretty soon be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States”
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi posted on X that the strategically vital waterway “cannot be seized with a tweet, nor with an aircraft carrier,” warning that Iran would continue to enforce its blockade until Washington accepts “the reality of defeat.”
Al Jazeera said a 60-day negotiating window established under a mid-June memorandum of understanding expires on Monday, with few direct talks having happened and maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz at a trickle.
Gharibabadi’s remarks were made as Iran and the United States had stalled talks while Iran discussed how to manage the strait with Oman, and the dispute comes as broader peace efforts face difficulties ahead of the deadline.
Kurdistan24 framed the wider context as the Middle East war beginning on February 28, with the United States and Israel launching strikes against Iran, and it said diplomatic efforts resulted in an April ceasefire that ended nearly 40 days of intense fighting.
