Iran Red Crescent Seeks Qatar’s Help in Tracing Three Captured Pilots

President of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Pirhossein Kolivand says Qatar’s Red Crescent branch has pledged to assist Iranian authorities in determining the fate of three Iranian pilots believed to have been captured by Qatari forces. Kolivand said on Monday that evidence indicates the pilots may be in Qatar and urged the Qatari Red Crescent to use its humanitarian channels to obtain information about their whereabouts and condition. He emphasized that such efforts are essential to ease the concerns of the pilots’ families and reaffirmed the neutral humanitarian role of the Red Crescent societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

According to Kolivand, Qatari Red Crescent officials have agreed to follow up on the case and seek information about the missing pilots. He also called for broader cooperation between the Iranian and Qatari Red Crescent societies in rescue and relief operations, training and the exchange of expertise, suggesting that their existing memorandum of understanding could be renewed and updated to strengthen humanitarian coordination. The case involves three Iranian Army pilots who reportedly disappeared after their aircraft were struck while returning from a mission over Qatar on March 2.

Brigadier General Seyyed Mohammad Bagherzadeh, commander of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff Missing-in-Action Search Committee, said two Iranian Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jets had flown to Qatar during the conflict that followed US and Israeli strikes on Iran beginning February 28. The aircraft were reportedly hit by enemy air defenses while returning, forcing the pilots to eject. Of the four pilots aboard the two aircraft, one, Majid Kazemi, was killed, while the other three were reportedly captured alive by Qatari forces. Kazemi’s body was returned to Iran and buried in Shiraz in late July. The Iranian government has described the US-Israeli attacks as aggression and says Iran responded with missile and drone strikes against Israel and US military assets across the region.