Iran has demanded the release of three pilots it claims were captured by Qatari forces after their Su-24 fighter jets crashed during the West Asia war, while Qatar has strongly denied detaining them.
Iranian armed forces General Mohammad Bagherzadeh said Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behraveshian were captured alive and had allegedly been held by Qatari forces for six months. In a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross, he called for action over their alleged detention.
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Iran had previously reported one pilot killed and others missing following a sortie towards Qatar in March, but details about the alleged capture had not been made public at the time.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Mohammed Al-Ansari rejected the claims, calling them “misleading”. He said Qatari authorities had established contact with the pilots after they allegedly breached Qatari airspace and confirmed their targeting trajectory.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said ongoing talks with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz were separate from wider diplomatic issues. He said the discussions focused on establishing temporary navigation routes after previous maritime lanes became unusable.
