In comments at a televised interview, Iranian Army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said Iran is still pursuing the case of the three remaining Air Force pilots who went missing during an operation against a US military base in Qatar, but the Qatari side has so far expressed no knowledge of their whereabouts.
"Our follow-up efforts are continuing, but the Qatari side has so far claimed it has no information and has not clarified the status of our three dear pilots," he explained.
"We ask the Qatari Army and government to act with greater responsibility and, within the framework of their commitments under international conventions and international humanitarian law, make a more serious effort to clarify the status of the three remaining pilots of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force," the spokesman added.
The spokesman stressed that despite the ongoing investigations, the fate of the three pilots remains unknown.
Speaking about Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, he said it was a key US military facility used for helicopter deployments and other operations.
The remarks came after the Iranian Army announced that DNA testing had confirmed the martyrdom of Brigadier General Majid Kazemi, one of the Su-24 pilots who took part in the March 2 strike on the US-operated Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
The martyred pilot’s body returned to Iran last week after months away from the country, while efforts to determine the fate of the three remaining crew members of the two Su-24 bombers were still underway.
According to the Army, the two aircraft took off from Shahid Doran Air Base in Shiraz in response to US and Israeli military aggression against Iran. The bombers penetrated advanced enemy detection systems and radar networks before carrying out a strike that caused heavy damage to the US base.
The Army said the aircraft were hit by enemy air defense systems over the Persian Gulf during their return flight, and investigations into the fate of the missing pilots have continued since then.
The operation was part of Iran's broader military response following large-scale US and Israeli attacks on military and civilian targets across the country after the assassination of the then Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and several senior commanders and civilians on February 28. In retaliation, the Iranian Armed Forces launched 100 waves of missile and drone strikes against American and Israeli targets in the occupied territories and at regional bases.