Qatar denies claims of detaining Iranian pilots

Doha (ANTARA) - Qatar on Saturday (15/8) denied claims that it had detained Iranian pilots and called the claims misleading amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to ease regional tensions.

“We firmly deny the claims circulating regarding the detention of Iranian pilots and are surprised by these misleading statements, particularly at a time like this,” said Majed Al Ansari, spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a post on the social media platform X.

Al Ansari said that his side had made contact with the pilots in question after they violated Qatari airspace and the authorities confirmed the direction of their attack trajectory.

“After following the rules of engagement and making efforts to communicate with them without receiving a response, the necessary measures were taken to defend our territory in accordance with international law,” said Al Ansari, adding that the situation at the time had been clarified through official channels.

The spokesman said that Qatari search and rescue teams subsequently carried out operations to search for the pilots’ bodies. He added that Qatar had communicated with Iran to coordinate the handover of the body of one pilot that had been found.

An Iranian military commander said on Saturday that Qatari forces had captured three Iranian pilots whose fighter jet was shot down while returning from a military mission against a United States (US) base in Qatar last March. The Iranian commander said that a fourth pilot was killed.

On 28 February, Israel and the US launched a joint attack on Tehran and other cities in Iran, killing Iran’s then-supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, as well as a number of military commanders and civilians. Iran retaliated with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel as well as US bases and assets in the Middle East region.

The body of the deceased Iranian pilot, Majid Kazemi, was repatriated to Iran and buried in the city of Shiraz, southern Iran, in late July.