Iran urges ICRC to investigate three pilots held in Qatar

Iran has publicly disclosed for the first time that three Air Force pilots who went missing following a strike on a U.S. military base in Qatar on March 2 were captured alive by Qatari forces, according to a letter sent to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Brigadier General Mohammad Bagherzadeh, commander of the Missing in Action Search Committee of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, addressed the letter to ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, expressing grave concern over the fate of the three pilots and requesting urgent investigation into their condition and circumstances of detention.

The three pilots were identified as Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian, and Omran Behraveshian. According to Bagherzadeh's account, two Iranian Air Force Su-24 fighter-bombers flew toward the U.S. military base in Qatar on March 2, 2026, as part of Iran's response to attacks on the country. Bagherzadeh stated that the aircraft successfully carried out their mission.

In the letter, Bagherzadeh indicated that credible information shows the three pilots were captured alive by Qatari forces following the operation. He characterized the pilots' combat mission as a response to what he described as attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran on February 28, 2026, launched from bases in Arab countries located on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf.

The disclosure marks the first public acknowledgment by Iranian officials of the pilots' capture and their location in Qatar. Bagherzadeh's letter to the ICRC seeks the international humanitarian organization's involvement in investigating the pilots' current condition and pursuing their release. The ICRC, as a neutral intermediary in armed conflicts, typically investigates the treatment and welfare of prisoners of war and detainees held by parties to conflicts.

No immediate response from Qatari authorities or the ICRC regarding the letter has been reported.