Qatar denies it is detaining three Iranian bomber pilots

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A ministry spokesman expressed surprise on Saturday at “misleading statements” from Iranian officials and reaffirmed that Qatari forces are not holding any surviving aircrew. “We are surprised by the misleading statements regarding the Iranian pilots amid the continuation of diplomatic efforts,” said Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al-Ansari, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic. His statement followed public demands from Tehran seeking the release of the aviators. General Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the Iranian armed forces said in a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross that three pilots, Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behraveshian, were captured alive after their Su-24 warplanes crashed in March, according to Iran’s Fars news agency. Bagherzadeh stated that the airmen had been held incommunicado for six months without access to their families or diplomatic representatives, urging international humanitarian intervention. Iran had previously acknowledged that one pilot was killed and others were missing following their mission to Qatar, but details regarding their alleged capture had not previously been publicised. Doha confirmed that Qatari air defence forces established contact with the aircraft after an unauthorised breach of Qatari airspace in March. After receiving no response to warnings, Qatari forces engaged the targets. Search and rescue teams later recovered the remains of one pilot, Majid Kazemi, and coordinated with Iranian authorities for the repatriation of his body. The military engagement came during an attack on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military installation in the region, which hosts U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) personnel. In early March, Qatar’s Defence Ministry reported shooting down two Iranian Sukhoi Su-24 bombers, marking the first time a Gulf country reported downing Iranian aircraft during the conflict. The interception came amid the broader wave of retaliatory strikes across the Gulf following the outbreak of hostilities on February 28. Although an April ceasefire brokered alongside initial mediator Pakistan temporarily halted major combat, peace framework talks collapsed in June. That led to sporadic clashes near the Strait of Hormuz and renewed attacks on regional shipping and infrastructure. Despite this dispute, Qatar remains actively engaged as a key mediator and is pushing for a negotiated settlement between Iran and the US. The diplomatic friction comes as broader peace efforts face difficulties ahead of a key deadline. A 60-day negotiating window established under a mid-June memorandum of understanding expires on Monday with few direct talks having happened, leaving maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz at a trickle. Addressing an audience on Friday in New York, United States President Donald Trump said Iran was being “very badly defeated” and suggested he would “pretty soon be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.” Tehran swiftly rejected the remarks on Saturday. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, posted on X that the strategically vital waterway “cannot be seized with a tweet, nor with an aircraft carrier”, warning that Iran would continue to enforce its blockade until Washington accepts “the reality of defeat”. 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