Iran Says Health of Captured Pilots in Qatar Is Deteriorating
Iran urges Qatar to transfer three detained pilots to a hospital on land as Doha rejects Tehran’s claims that its nationals are being held
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Iran on Saturday said the health of three Iranian pilots allegedly detained by Qatar has deteriorated, urging Doha to transfer them to a hospital on land and allow international humanitarian assistance.
Mohammad Bagherzadeh, commander of Iran’s committee for searching for personnel missing in action within the Armed Forces General Staff, made the remarks, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
Bagherzadeh called on Qatar to transfer the detained pilots to a hospital, saying they were being held “in the water” and that their health condition was poor.
He also said the location where the pilots were being held was unsuitable and called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to send an emergency aircraft to Qatar to facilitate the rapid return of the injured and sick pilots to Iran.
Iran Says Three Pilots Were Detained in Qatar
Iranian officials have previously claimed that Qatari authorities detained three Iranian pilots in March during the US-Iran war.
The allegations have been strongly rejected by Qatar, which has denied detaining any Iranian pilots.
On Aug. 15, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari rejected the Iranian claims in a post on X, expressing surprise at what he described as misleading statements made at a sensitive time when diplomatic efforts to reduce regional tensions were continuing.
Al Ansari provided Qatar’s account of the incident, saying the Iranian pilots had entered Qatari airspace and that, after their target and flight path had been identified, attempts were made to establish communication with them.
The pilots, however, did not respond to the attempts to contact them, he said.
According to Al Ansari, Qatari authorities subsequently took the necessary military measures against the aircraft in accordance with the rules governing armed conflict and international law governing the protection of Qatari territory.
He said Qatar had also provided explanations regarding the incident through official channels.
The conflicting accounts come amid heightened regional tensions and ongoing diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation between Iran and Gulf states.