Qatar has denied accusations from Iran that three pilots of an\nIranian bomber were secretly detained after their aircraft was shot down\nduring the conflict in March. The Qatari government stressed that it is\nnot holding any surviving Iranian aircrew.<\/p>\n
Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said Doha was surprised by\nstatements from Iranian officials regarding the whereabouts of the\npilots. \u201cWe are surprised by the misleading statements regarding the\nIranian pilots amid ongoing diplomatic efforts,\u201d Al-Ansari said,\naccording to Al Jazeera Arabic on Saturday (15\/8).<\/p>\n
The statement from Doha came in response to Tehran\u2019s demand that\nthree Iranian pilots be released. General Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the\nIranian Armed Forces, in a letter to the International Committee of the\nRed Cross (ICRC), said the three pilots \u2014 Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid\nDashtian, and Omran Behraveshian \u2014 were captured alive after their Su-24\nfighter jet went down in Qatar in March.<\/p>\n
According to Iran\u2019s Fars news agency, Bagherzadeh said the three\npilots had been held without communication for six months. They were\nreportedly denied access to their families and diplomatic\nrepresentatives. Iran called for international humanitarian intervention\nto ascertain the whereabouts and condition of the three pilots.<\/p>\n
Iran had previously acknowledged that one pilot was killed and\nseveral others were missing after carrying out a mission towards Qatar.\nHowever, the claim that three pilots were captured alive was only made\npublicly in the latest development.<\/p>\n
Qatar confirmed that its air defence systems detected and made\ncontact with the Iranian aircraft after an unauthorised violation of\nQatari airspace in March. Qatar said its forces issued warnings but\nreceived no response. The aircraft then became a target of air defence\nfire.<\/p>\n
Qatari search and rescue teams subsequently found the body of one\npilot, Majid Kazemi. Qatar also coordinated with Iranian authorities to\nrepatriate the remains.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred amid an attack on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar,\nthe largest United States military facility in the region and home to US\nCentral Command (Centcom) personnel.<\/p>\n
In early March, Qatar\u2019s Ministry of Defence said it had shot down two\nIranian Sukhoi Su-24 bombers. If confirmed, the incident would mark a\nsignificant development in the conflict, as Qatar is the first Gulf\nstate to report shooting down an Iranian aircraft.<\/p>\n
The tensions followed the outbreak of conflict on 28 February. A\nseries of retaliatory strikes then spread across parts of the Gulf.<\/p>\n
A ceasefire reached in April with the help of Pakistani mediators\ntemporarily halted major fighting. However, talks on a peace framework\nstalled again in June. Tensions have continued through sporadic clashes\naround the Strait of Hormuz as well as attacks on shipping and\ninfrastructure in the region.<\/p>\n
Amid its dispute with Iran, Qatar continues to play a mediating role\nand push for a resolution through negotiations between Iran and the\nUnited States.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/qatar-denies-holding-three-iranian-bomber-pilots-1786845023", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }