Iran disputes Qatar, Kuwait accounts of captured personnel, demands investigation
Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- Iran disputes Qatar and Kuwait's accounts of captured Iranian personnel, demanding an investigation in Qatar.
- Qatar denies holding any Iranian pilots, stating its search and rescue teams found the remains of one pilot after an Iranian aircraft violated its airspace.
- Iran also accuses Kuwait of withholding information about four Iranians held there since May, who were allegedly on a maritime patrol when they entered Kuwaiti waters due to navigation issues.
An Iranian military official has accused Qatar of delaying an investigation into the fate of pilots Tehran claims were captured by Qatari forces. Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, stated that an Iranian Air Force expert and fact-finding team have been waiting for months to enter Qatar, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Qatar should allow an Iranian team to enter the country to investigate the fate of pilots whom Tehran says were captured by Qatari forces.
Qatar, however, denies holding any Iranian pilots. Doha reported on Saturday that its search and rescue teams discovered the remains of one pilot after Iranian aircraft violated Qatari airspace in March and did not respond to contact attempts. Qatar stated it had reached out to Iran to coordinate the handover of the remains and invited Tehran to review details of its search and rescue operations, but received no response.
Qatar denies holding any Iranian pilots.
Baqerzadeh also extended accusations to Kuwait, alleging that the country is similarly withholding information about four Iranians held within its borders. Iran maintains these individuals were affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards and were on a maritime patrol when they entered Kuwaiti territorial waters due to a navigation disruption. Kuwait has previously stated that the four were suspected of planning hostile actions against the country.
Qatar said it had contacted Iran to coordinate the handover of the remains and had invited Tehran to review details of its search and rescue operations, but had received no response.
Baqerzadeh called for the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently follow up on both cases, accusing Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying the investigation and preventing the pilots' return to Iran.
Kuwait was similarly withholding information about the fate of four Iranians held in Kuwait.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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