Qatar denies holding three Iranian pilots; one found dead

Qatar on Saturday rejected Iran’s claim that three Iranian pilots were captured alive after ejecting from fighter jets during a March combat mission. A Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson said search and rescue teams recovered the remains of one pilot.

According to Qatar, the pilots violated Qatari airspace in March and failed to respond to repeated attempts to establish contact. Doha said it contacted Iranian authorities to coordinate the handover but had not received a response to an invitation to review details of the operation, the spokesperson said.

Iran's state news agency IRNA, quoting a senior military official, said the three pilots were captured alive after their aircraft were hit during a mission targeting a military base in Qatar. Iran's Armed Forces General Staff said it had appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross to help secure their release. The incident occurred after US and Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28, triggering a wider regional conflict.