Iran urges Qatar to move detained pilots to hospital on land

An Iranian military official on Saturday called on Qatar to transfer detained Iranian pilots to a hospital on land, claiming they are being held on water and are in "poor physical condition," according to a report by Reuters citing Tasnim news agency.reuters

Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, said the location where the pilots were being held was unsuitable and requested that the International Committee of the Red Cross send an air ambulance to Qatar to expedite the return of injured and sick detainees to Iran.reuters

Disputed Claims

The latest appeal marks an escalation in a weekslong diplomatic dispute between Tehran and Doha over the fate of Iranian airmen whose Su-24 fighter jets were downed during an attack on Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base on March 2, in the early days of the wider Middle East war.arabnews+1

Qatar has categorically denied holding any surviving pilots. Last week, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari called the Iranian claims "completely baseless, false and illogical," saying Qatari forces targeted the aircraft because they "violated Qatar's sovereignty and the city of Doha" and were dealt with according to international law. Al-Ansari said search-and-rescue teams found the remains of one pilot and that Doha had contacted Tehran to coordinate a handover, but received no response.reuters+2

Iran first publicly accused Qatar of capturing three pilots on August 15, when Baqerzadeh named the men as Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian, and Omran Behraveshian, saying a fourth pilot, Majid Kazemi, had died.nytimes

Diplomatic Stalemate

Iran's foreign ministry said earlier this week it would consider the three pilots prisoners until Qatar clarifies their fate. Baqerzadeh has previously accused Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying a fact-finding team's entry into the country.jpost+1

Qatar's foreign ministry said Tuesday that its invitation for an Iranian delegation to visit remains open. Baqerzadeh welcomed Qatar's decision to receive experts and called on Doha to provide necessary cooperation.aljazeera+1