Qatar denies capturing three Iranian pilots after downing fighter jets

What the report says

Iran has asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene over three Iranian pilots it says were detained by Qatar after two fighter jets were hit by air defences during an operation at the start of the US-Iran war. In a letter reported by Iranian media, Brig Gen Mohammad Bagherzadeh identified the pilots as Javad Salehi, Abdul Majid Dashtian and Imran Behroshian, and said they had been held for six months. He also said a fourth pilot, Majid Kazemi, died in the same operation and his body was returned.

Qatar rejected Iran’s account, saying it “categorically denied” the claims and was surprised by what it called misleading statements. Qatari foreign affairs spokesperson Majed Mohammed Al Ansari said contact had been made with the pilots after they entered Qatari airspace, but no response was received. He said Qatar took the necessary steps to defend its territory in line with international law.

According to the BBC’s reporting, the dispute centers on a 2 March 2026 military incident, described by Iran as involving a mission against a Qatari military base. Qatar said its search and rescue teams also worked to recover the pilots’ remains and that it had contacted Iran about returning one body. The episode appears to add another point of tension in the wider war, while the two sides present sharply different accounts of what happened and whether the pilots were detained or died in combat.