Brigadier General Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Missing in Action Search Committee of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, made the disclosure in a letter to President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, expressing “grave concern” over the fate of the three pilots and asking the international humanitarian organization to urgently follow up on their situation.
Baqerzadeh said two Iranian Air Force Su-24 fighter-bombers had flown toward a US military base in Qatar on March 2, 2026, as part of Iran’s response to attacks on the country. He said the aircraft successfully carried out their mission but were struck by enemy air defenses while returning, forcing their crews to eject.
One of the four pilots, Brigadier General Majid Kazemi, was martyred. His remains were subsequently recovered and buried in Iran.
“According to the information obtained, the three other pilots involved in the incident — pilots Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behraveshian — were captured alive by Qatari forces,” Baqerzadeh wrote.
He denounced Qatar for failing, during the six months since the incident, to respect the prisoners’ rights under international law, including the Geneva Conventions.
General Baqerzadeh said that despite diplomatic efforts and follow-ups, the Iranian side had not been allowed to meet or interview the pilots or establish contact between them and their families and officials handling the case.
“This matter falls within the chapters concerning war crimes and warrants consideration and investigation,” he said.
The Iranian military official cited Articles 70 and 78 of the Third Geneva Convention, saying prisoners of war must be able to notify their families and the ICRC of their capture and have the right to communicate with representatives of protecting powers, including ICRC delegates visiting detention camps.
He also pointed to provisions concerning seriously ill or wounded prisoners, saying those prisoners should be directly repatriated to their home countries when medically warranted.
General Baqerzadeh called on the ICRC to urgently interview the three Iranian pilots in Qatar, inform Tehran about their health and facilitate their “swift release.”
“The Missing in Action Search Committee of the Armed Forces General Staff expresses its grave concern over the situation of the pilots held captive in Qatar,” he said, urging the ICRC to act within its humanitarian mandate and bilateral cooperation mechanisms.
The disclosure comes after months of uncertainty surrounding the fate of the three pilots. Iranian Army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said on August 1 that Tehran was continuing to pursue the case, while Qatari authorities had claimed they had no information about the whereabouts of the missing airmen.
Akraminia had called on Qatar’s government and military to act more responsibly and make a more serious effort, in accordance with international conventions and international humanitarian law, to clarify the status of the three pilots.
The Iranian Army had earlier announced that DNA testing confirmed the death of Brigadier General Majid Kazemi, one of the pilots of the two Su-24s involved in the March 2 operation. His remains were returned to Iran after several months.
According to the Iranian Army, the two aircraft had taken off from Shahid Doran Air Base in Shiraz and struck the US-operated Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar before being targeted by enemy air defenses over the Persian Gulf during their return flight.
The operation came as part of Iran’s broader military response to large-scale US and Israeli attacks on Iranian military and civilian targets that began on February 28. Iranian forces subsequently carried out missile and drone strikes against US and Israeli targets in the occupied territories and US military facilities across the region.