Iran claims that three Iranian pilots flying Su-24 fighter jets were captured by Qatari forces after their aircraft were downed during a March 2, 2026 operation targeting a U.S. military base in Qatar amid the wider Middle East conflict that began on February 28, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Iranian officials named the missing pilots as Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian, and Omran Behraveshian [4, 5]. Iran also said one pilot died and his remains have been returned, while the three others remain missing [4, 5, 6].
Qatar denies detaining any Iranian pilots. A Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, "We categorically deny the claims circulating regarding the detention of Iranian pilots & are surprised by these misleading statements at this particular time, amid the ongoing diplomatic efforts & initiatives aimed at de-escalating tensions in the region" [4]. Qatar stated its search and rescue teams recovered the remains of one pilot and fulfilled their duties fully, but it did not admit to holding any captured pilots [5].
Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of Iran's Committee for the Search for Missing Persons, said an Iranian fact-finding team has been waiting for months to enter Qatar to investigate the pilots' fate and called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to urgently follow up on the case [1, 2, 4, 6]. Iran accused Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying the investigation and preventing the pilots' return [1, 2, 6].
Qatar said it invited an Iranian team in April 2026 to review the details of its search and rescue operations, but Iran did not respond to the invitation [2, 4, 5].
In addition to the pilots, Iran said four of its nationals are missing and possibly detained in Kuwait after a maritime incident; Kuwait denies any hostile actions or detainment plans [2, 6].
The conflict escalated after U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran starting February 28, 2026. Following a ceasefire agreement in June 2026, fighting resumed in July [5, 6].
On August 15, Iran publicly accused Qatar of detaining the three pilots and called for ICRC intervention, which Qatar again denied [4, 5]. Iran repeated its call for Qatar to allow an independent investigation on August 16 [1, 2, 3, 6].
The situation remains tense with no resolution to the pilots' fate, and efforts for a fact-finding mission to enter Qatar continue as regional diplomatic talks proceed.
