Iran demands release of three pilots detained in Qatar

Iran has officially requested the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to intervene and secure the release of three Iranian pilots held by Qatari forces. General Mohammad Baqerzadeh, head of the Iranian Armed Forces' Missing Persons Search Committee, confirmed that Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian, and Omran Behravashian were captured alive following the crash of their Su-24 aircraft on March 2. The incident occurred during an attempted aerial attack on a United States military base located in Qatar.

According to an official letter sent by Baqerzadeh, the Qatari government has denied the pilots access to their families or Iranian authorities, prompting Tehran to call for immediate ICRC verification of their health and well-being. This request follows a separate announcement in late July by the Iranian military, which reported the recovery of the remains of a fourth pilot, Majid Kazemi, who died during the same military operation against the American base in early March. Tehran is now pushing for diplomatic and humanitarian intervention to ensure the repatriation of the three survivors, citing concerns over their prolonged incommunicado detention.