US Israel Iran War Latest News: Iran has asked Qatar to allow an Iranian investigation team to enter the country to establish what happened to three Iranian military pilots who have been missing since a March 2 operation. Tehran says it presumes the three pilots are being held captive, but Qatar has denied detaining any Iranian pilots.
Iranian military official Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Armed Forces General Staff Committee for the Search for Missing Persons, said an Iranian Air Force expert and fact-finding team had been waiting for months to travel to Qatar and investigate the case. According to Iranian media, he accused Qatari authorities of delaying the investigation and called for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to follow up on the matter.
US Israel Iran War Latest News: Iran Presumes Three Missing Pilots Are Being Held
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran believes the three missing pilots may be in captivity and will pursue the matter through diplomatic, legal and international channels. “Until the circumstances are clarified, we presume that the three missing pilots are being held captive, and we will use all available legal and international channels,” Baghaei said.
Baghaei said four pilots were involved in the March 2 operation, with the remains of one pilot later returned to Iran. Tehran has since sought information about the other three missing personnel. Iran says its diplomatic efforts began soon after the pilots disappeared and included communication with the ICRC and consultations through diplomatic channels.
US Israel Iran War Latest News: Qatar Denies Detaining Iranian Pilots
Qatar has rejected Iran’s account that its forces are holding Iranian pilots. Doha said Iranian aircraft violated Qatari airspace in March and failed to respond to attempts by Qatari authorities to contact them. Qatar said its search-and-rescue teams subsequently recovered the remains of one pilot.
Qatar said it contacted Iran to coordinate the handover of the remains and invited Tehran to review details of its search-and-rescue operation. Doha, however, said Iran had not responded to that invitation. The conflicting statements mean that the fate of the three missing pilots remains unresolved.
US Israel Iran War Latest News: Iran Accuses Qatar of Delaying Investigation
Baqerzadeh has accused Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying efforts to investigate the incident and determine what happened to the missing pilots. He said an Iranian expert and fact-finding team had been waiting for months to enter Qatar. He also urged the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene and follow up on the case. Qatar, meanwhile, maintains that it is not holding any Iranian pilots and says it has already offered Iran an opportunity to examine the search-and-rescue operation.
US Israel Iran War Latest News: Iran Raises Case of Four Iranians in Kuwait
Baqerzadeh also raised the separate case of four Iranians detained in Kuwait. Iran said in May that the four were affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and had been conducting a maritime patrol before entering Kuwaiti territorial waters because of a navigation problem. Kuwait has given a different account, saying the four Iranians were suspected of planning hostile activities against the country.
US Israel Iran War Latest News: Conflicting Accounts Over Missing Personnel
The Qatar case remains a dispute between Tehran and Doha. Iran says it presumes three missing pilots are being held captive, while Qatar denies detaining Iranian pilots and says it recovered the remains of one pilot following the March incident. Iran is seeking access for its investigation team and says it will continue pursuing the matter through diplomatic, legal and international channels. Qatar, for its part, says it has already invited Iranian officials to review its search-and-rescue findings.
