Iranian authorities revealed on Saturday that three of Tehran’s pilots who went down early in the Middle East war were still being held in Qatar, calling on the Gulf state to release them.
Iran had previously reported one pilot killed and others missing after a sortie to Qatar in March, but news of their alleged capture was not publicised at the time.
“Three Iranian pilots were captured alive by Qatari forces after their Su-24 fighter jets crashed during the war,” said General Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the Iranian armed forces, Fars news agency reported.
“Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behraveshian have been held by Qatari forces for six months,” he said in a letter addressed to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In the letter, Bagherzadeh called for their release, saying the pilots had not been allowed to meet or contact their families.
Qatar denied that it was detaining any Iranian pilots on Saturday.