Qatar denies Iran's claim of detaining 3 pilots

Qatar has officially refuted claims made by the Iranian General Staff that it had taken three Iranian pilots into custody. The Iranian military had stated that these pilots were captured by Qatar after their aircraft crashed during operations related to the conflict with the U.S. and Israel.

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the Iranian planes had violated Qatari airspace. According to the ministry, attempts were made to communicate with the pilots, but they did not respond. This directly contradicts the Iranian assertion of the pilots being detained as prisoners.

Qatar further reported that search and rescue teams subsequently located the body of one of the pilots. The ministry indicated that coordination with Iranian authorities is in progress for the handover of the deceased pilot's remains. This contrasts with Iran's claim that three pilots were held alive by Qatari forces.

Iran's General Staff had previously requested the International Committee of the Red Cross to investigate the status of the pilots and facilitate their release. The Iranian military had identified the deceased pilot as Majid Kazemi and the three allegedly captured pilots as Javad Salihi, Abdolmajid Shafiyan, and Imran Behruziyan. Qatar had already handed over Kazemi's body to Iran last month, following which a two-day funeral ceremony was held in Iran after identity verification.