RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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TEHRAN — Qatar has agreed to allow an Iranian expert team to meet with Iranian pilots being held in the Arab country, a military official said, as Tehran continues efforts to determine their condition and secure their return.
Brigadier General Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Missing in Action Search Committee of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, said on Saturday that his efforts concerning Iranian prisoners in Qatar and Kuwait were continuing.
He called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to send an air ambulance to Qatar as soon as possible to repatriate the captured pilots, whom he said were seriously wounded and ill.
The general welcomed the Qatari government’s decision to receive the Iranian expert team and called for the necessary cooperation to be provided.
He also expressed concern about the conditions in which the prisoners were being held, saying that “the place where the prisoners are being kept on water is not suitable.” He urged the Qatari government to transfer them to land and to a well-equipped hospital as soon as possible to protect their health.
Regarding other Iranian prisoners in Kuwait, Baqerzadeh referred to the Kuwaiti government’s initial agreement to allow the Iranian ambassador to meet with the prisoners held there, saying, “This action has created a glimmer of hope for the swift release of these dear compatriots.”
He called on Kuwait to respect the rights of the four Iranian prisoners in accordance with the four Geneva Conventions and to facilitate initial contact between them and their families.
The Iranian military commander also urged the ICRC to facilitate video calls between the Iranian prisoners and their families, pointing to an initiative through which the organization has for years arranged video communications between prisoners at Guantanamo and their relatives to reassure their families.
Baqerzadeh said the ICRC was therefore expected to take similar action for the Iranian prisoners while urgently pursuing their release. He called on the ICRC office serving Arab countries in the region to take the lead in this effort and undertake the necessary measures.
Iran recently made public, for the first time, its assessment that three pilots who went missing after a March 2 operation against the US-operated Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar were captured alive by Qatari forces.
Brigadier General Baqerzadeh raised the issue in a letter to ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger on August 15, expressing grave concern over their fate and urging the organization to investigate their condition and facilitate their release.
According to Baqerzadeh, two Iranian Air Force Su-24s carried out the mission but were hit by enemy air defenses while returning, forcing their crews to eject. One of the four pilots, Brigadier General Majid Kazemi, was killed, with DNA testing later confirming his death, and his remains were returned to Iran. Baqerzadeh identified the three other pilots as Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behraveshian, saying they had been captured alive by Qatari forces.
The Iranian military official said Tehran had been unable, despite diplomatic follow-ups, to meet or interview the three pilots or establish contact between them and their families. He cited provisions of the Third Geneva Convention concerning prisoners of war and called on the ICRC to urgently establish contact with the pilots, report on their health and help secure their “swift release.”
The disclosure followed months of uncertainty over the pilots’ whereabouts. Iranian officials have repeatedly urged Qatar to clarify their status and act in accordance with international humanitarian law, while Qatari authorities have said they had no information about the missing airmen.
The March 2 operation came amid Iran’s broader military response to US and Israeli attacks that began on February 28.
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