Iran has claimed that Qatar is holding its three pilots prisoners for almost six months after Doha shot down two Iranian Su-24 fighter jets throughout a failed bombing run at Al Udeid navy base.
Gen. Seyed Mohammad Bagherzadeh, commander of the Iranian armed forces’ lacking individuals search committee, made the accusation in a letter to the Worldwide Committee of the Pink Cross, which Iranian media revealed.
He mentioned the boys have been flying Su-24 fighter jets in an operation on March 2, days after the outbreak of the battle, when their planes had been hit by “enemy defenses,” and the pilots ejected.
They survived however have been captured by the Qatari authorities, in response to Basic Bagherzadeh, who named the boys as Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behraveshian. A fourth pilot, Majid Kazemi, died, he added.
Qatar denied the allegations.
Doha mentioned that its search and rescue groups had discovered the stays of 1 pilot after Iranian plane violated Qatari airspace in March and failed to reply to makes an attempt to contact them.
“We categorically deny the claims circulating relating to the detention of Iranian pilots & are stunned by these deceptive statements at this explicit time, amid the continuing diplomatic efforts & initiatives aimed toward de-escalating tensions within the area,” Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s international ministry, wrote on social media.
Qatar mentioned that it discovered the stays of 1 Iranian pilot, which it provided to return to Tehran. The destiny of three different pilots will not be recognized, and they’re presumed to have died in Qatari waters after being shot down by Qatari fighter jets.
On March 2, simply three days after the Iran-US battle began on February 3, two Iranian Su-24 entered Qatari airspace, flying as little as beneath 80 toes to evade radar detection.
Notably, simply someday earlier, on March 1, three Iranian F-5 fighter jets efficiently bombed the U.S. navy base in Kuwait. This was the first time in over seven decades that U.S. floor troops have been bombed by manned enemy fighter jets.
Within the ensuing confusion, a Kuwaiti F/A-18 fighter jet shot down three US Air Pressure F-15 fighter jets, mistaking them for enemy jets.
Based on Iranian Press TV, the three F-5 jets flew as little as beneath 50 toes to evade radar detection, and have been capable of penetrate Kuwaiti airspace, bomb a U.S. navy base, after which escape unscathed.
The profitable bombing run in Kuwait might need emboldened the Iranians. Nevertheless, their technique of shallow incursion failed in Qatar, because the Iranian Su-24 jets have been detected, tracked, and shot down by Qatari F-15 fighter jets.
“Qatar Emiri Air Force efficiently shot down two (SU24) plane coming from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Additionally they efficiently intercepted seven ballistic missiles by air defenses, and intercepted 5 drones by Qatar Emiri Air Pressure and Qatar Emiri Navy Forces, which focused a number of areas within the state as we speak,” the Qatari protection ministry mentioned on March 2.
Notably, this was the primary air-to-air kill for the Qatar Emiri Air Pressure.
Individually, Iran can also be accusing Kuwait of withholding details about the destiny of 4 Iranians held in Kuwait.
In Could, Iran mentioned the 4 have been affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards and had been on a maritime patrol earlier than getting into Kuwaiti territorial waters as a result of a navigational disruption. Kuwait has mentioned the 4 have been suspected of planning hostile actions in opposition to the nation.
Collectively, the 2 incidents can turn into additional roadblocks within the fragile peace course of within the Center East.
Based on analysts, Iranian makes an attempt to lift the problem of its Su-24 pilots almost six months after the incident and blaming Doha for holding its pilots in unlawful detention may be a calculated try to flip the narrative and recast Tehran because the sufferer.
Alkhuzaie mentioned Iran’s resolution to tug a “impartial Gulf state,” which has largely acted as an ally for Tehran, into its battle with the US was a transparent miscalculation, and that Doha had reacted to the assaults “as any sovereign nation would.”
“Its air defenses downed two Iranian Su-24s that violated its airspace. This was not aggression; it was self-defense,” he insisted. “The info are clear: Jets have been shot down, one pilot’s stays have been recovered, and no proof helps Iran’s declare of captured servicemen.”
“Ultimately, the narrative is easy. Iran struck Qatar, Qatar defended itself, and Iran is now making an attempt to rewrite the story. The world ought to see this for what it’s: a failed technique dressed up as victimhood,” Alkhuzaie mentioned.
Analysts steered this may be ‘hostage diplomacy’ by Tehran to recast itself as a sufferer, and demand one thing in return from the Gulf states of Kuwait and Qatar.
Notably, Iran has an extended historical past of utilizing hostages as leverage to advance its diplomatic targets.
Iran’s Lengthy Historical past of ‘Hostage Diplomacy’
Tehran’s historical past of utilizing ‘hostages’ as leverage to advance its diplomatic targets is as previous because the Iranian Revolution itself.
On 4 November 1979, shortly after the Iranian Revolution overthrew the Shah, Iranian scholar militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. They seized 66 Individuals, largely diplomats, employees, and Marine guards. Whereas 13 girls and African-American hostages have been launched, 52 of them have been held for 444 days.
Iranians demanded that Washington return the Shah, who was within the US for medical therapy. This kicked off one of many longest-running hostage crises of the twentieth century and completely broken the US-Iran relationship.
The hostages have been lastly launched on 20 January 1981, coinciding with Ronald Reagan’s inauguration.
Once more, in 2004, Iranian forces captured eight British naval personnel within the waterway on the Iran–Iraq border whereas they have been coaching Iraqi river patrols. Iran claimed that they had strayed into Iranian waters. They have been held for 3 days, appeared on Iranian TV, and have been launched on 24 June after diplomatic talks; their boats and tools weren’t returned.
Three years later in 2007, 15 British Royal Navy personnel from HMS Cornwall have been seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy. Britain insisted they have been in Iraqi waters; Iran, nevertheless, claimed that that they had entered Iranian waters.
They have been held for 13 days, proven on Iranian tv making statements, and launched on 4 April 2007. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad framed their return as a “reward.”
In 2016, two U.S. Navy riverine command boats, carrying 10 sailors, entered Iranian territorial waters close to Farsi Island within the Persian Gulf as a result of navigational errors. IRGC Navy forces seized the boats and detained the crew for roughly 15 hours. They have been launched unhurt the subsequent day, following fast, high-level diplomatic contacts between Tehran and Washington.
Equally, in 2009, Iranian border guards detained three Individuals whereas they have been mountaineering close to the Iraq–Iran border in Iraqi Kurdistan. Iran accused them of unlawful entry and espionage. Whereas one hiker was launched, the opposite two have been convicted and solely launched in 2011 after diplomatic efforts and reported funds.
The truth is, since 1979, Iran has repeatedly detained dozens of Individuals, British, and different Western or twin nationals, together with journalists, teachers, businesspeople, assist staff, and vacationers, typically on prices of espionage, national-security offenses, or “propaganda in opposition to the state.”
Critics have typically argued that these detentions are politically motivated and utilized by Tehran for leverage in negotiations, prisoner swaps, or to strain international governments.
The most recent Iranian accusations in opposition to Qatar, of holding three of its pilots prisoners for six months, may be ‘hostage diplomacy’ in reverse.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of expertise in information media. He has labored with Press Belief of India, Instances Now, Zee Information, Financial Instances, and Microsoft Information. He holds a Grasp’s Diploma in Worldwide Media and Fashionable Historical past from the College of Sheffield, UK.
- He will be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
