Qatar denies capturing three Iranian pilots after downing fighter jets

TEHRAN, Iran 

Iran has called for the release of three pilots it said were captured by Qatar after two of its fighter jets were hit by air defences during a military operation at the start of the US-Iran war.

Iran said two Su-24 warplanes were used in the mission on a Qatari military base on 2 March 2026 (File)

In a letter to the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Iran's Brig Gen Mohammad Bagherzadeh claimed the pilots - Javad Salehi, Abdul Majid Dashtian and Imran Behroshian - had been held captive for six months.

He said the body of a fourth pilot, Majid Kazemi, had been returned after he was killed in the same operation on 2 March 2026 - the third day of the war.

Qatar "categorically denied" Iran's claims and said it was "surprised by these misleading statements".

Bagherzadeh said the three pilots had been captured by Qatar after they ejected from their jets during a combat mission targeting a Qatari military base.

In the letter to ICRC chief Mirjana Spoljaric, published by Iranian media, he accused Qatar of violating "the inalienable rights of these prisoners, contrary to all international laws and regulations".

The letter also claimed the three pilots had not been allowed to meet or contact their families.

Qatar's foreign affairs spokesperson Majed Mohammed Al Ansari said contact had been made with the pilots "after they violated Qatari airspace", but that it had not received a response.

"The necessary measures were taken to defend our territory in accordance with international law," he added in a statement on X.

Al Ansari said Qatar's search and rescue teams "carried out their duties to the fullest extent in searching for the pilots' remains", adding the Gulf nation had contacted Iran "co-ordinate the handover of the remains of one of the pilots that were recovered".

Bagerzadeh later told the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Sunday that Qatar should allow an Iranian fact-finding team into the country to investigate what had happened, claiming one had been denied entry for months.

Al Ansari said an invitation for an Iranian team to visit Qatar to review the findings of its search and rescue operation had been extended in April but Tehran had yet to respond.