Qatar on Saturday denied that its forces had been holding three Iranian pilots, rejecting a declare by Tehran that the pilots had been captured alive after ejecting from fighter jets throughout a fight mission concentrating on a army base in Qatar.
A Qatari Overseas Ministry spokesperson mentioned on X that the Iranian pilots had violated Qatari airspace in March and failed to reply to repeated makes an attempt by Qatari authorities to contact them.
The spokesperson mentioned Qatari search and rescue groups later recovered the stays of one of many pilots. Qatar additionally contacted Iran to coordinate the handover, however Tehran had but to reply to an invite to evaluation particulars of the operation, the spokesperson mentioned.
The denial got here after Iranian state information company IRNA quoted a senior army official as saying that three Iranian pilots had been captured alive by Qatari forces after ejecting from their fighter jets throughout a mission towards a army base in Qatar.
The Iranian official called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to observe up on the pilots’ destiny.
Iran’s Armed Forces Normal Employees additionally mentioned in a letter printed by the semi-official Fars information company on Saturday that it had appealed to the Worldwide Committee of the Purple Cross to assist safe the discharge of three Iranian pilots it mentioned had been being held by Qatar.
Based on the Iranian account, the pilots had been captured after their plane had been hit throughout a March mission towards what Tehran described as an enemy army base in Qatar.
The mission happened as Iran responded to US and Israeli assaults that started on February 28. Tehran has accused america and Israel of utilizing bases in Gulf Arab states as a part of the assaults.
Qatar mentioned it took measures to defend its territory after the Iranian pilots entered its airspace and didn’t reply to makes an attempt to determine communication.
The US-Israeli assaults on Iran triggered a wider regional battle, with Tehran launching strikes towards targets in Israel and US army services throughout the Gulf.
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