Rania Abushamala
15 August 2026•Update: 15 August 2026
- There was no immediate comment from Qatar about Iranian claim
Three Iranian pilots were captured alive by Qatari forces after their Su-24 fighter jets crashed during attacks in March, the state broadcaster said, citing an Iranian military official Saturday.
Mohammad Bagherzadeh, head of the Missing Persons Search Committee of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, wrote in a letter to Mirjana Spoljarić Egger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), that the three were among four pilots aboard two fighter jets that went down during the war with the US and Israel.
“Three Iranian pilots were captured alive by Qatari forces after the Su-24 fighter jets crashed during the March attacks,” Bagherzadeh wrote.
There was no immediate comment from Qatar on the Iranian claim.
Bagherzadeh said the Iranian Air Force acted “in accordance with the principle of defending the country’s territorial integrity” after US and Israeli attacks on Iran began Feb. 28 from air bases in Arab countries along the southern Gulf.
“Two Su-24 fighter jets departed on March 2, 2026, to carry out a combat mission against an enemy military base located in Qatar,” he said. “Despite their initial success in carrying out their duties, the pilots ejected on their return after being hit by enemy air defenses.”
One of the pilots, Majid Kazemi, was killed and later buried, while Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behrouzian were “captured alive by Qatari forces,” according to the letter.
Bagherzadeh accused Qatar of “violating” the pilots’ rights under international law, including the four Geneva Conventions, by denying them contact with their families or Iranian officials despite diplomatic efforts in the last six months.
The Missing Persons Search Committee urged the ICRC to “interview the Iranian pilots in Qatar as soon as possible,” inform Iran about their health and “facilitate their prompt release.”
Regional tensions escalated in late February when Israel and the US launched coordinated attacks on Iran targeting military, nuclear and energy infrastructure. Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israeli and US targets across the region.
On June 18, Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding through Pakistani and Qatari mediation, ending hostilities and beginning negotiations toward a final agreement. The talks later stalled because of disputes about maritime security and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical export route for Gulf oil and gas.
