Iran's Brig Gen Mohammad Bagherzadeh wrote to the Red Cross demanding the release of three pilots — Javad Salehi, Abdul Majid Dashtian, and Imran Behroshian — whom he says Qatar captured after their jets were shot down during a strike on a Qatari military base on 2 March 2026. A fourth pilot, Majid Kazemi, died in the same operation and his body was returned to Iran, according to the general's account.
Qatar flatly denied holding any pilots, with foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Mohammed Al Ansari calling Iran's claims misleading. Al Ansari said Qatar tried contacting the pilots after they 'violated Qatari airspace' but got no response, and separately said Doha reached out to Tehran to coordinate handing over the recovered remains, an invitation he says Iran has not answered.
Iran's letter accuses Qatar of denying the alleged prisoners contact with their families and violating international law. Qatar, for its part, insists its search and rescue teams did everything by the book while defending its own territory.
The full dispatch is available from the source below.