On August 16 (Tehran time), according to Xinhua news agency, Mr. Mohammad Bagherzadeh, Commander of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons under the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, proposed that Qatar allow an Iranian Air Force expert team to come to the country to investigate the on-site case of 3 missing pilots in March.
The proposal was made after Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari on August 15 rejected Iran's accusations that Qatari forces had captured 3 pilots after their fighter jets were shot down while returning from a military mission targeting a US base in Qatar.
Mr. Bagherzadeh said that a group of Iranian Air Force experts had waited for months to be allowed to go to Qatar for investigation. However, according to him, access to the scene has not been carried out due to obstacles and delays from Qatar.
The Iranian commander called on Qatar to allow the expert team to enter to verify the incident, instead of just denying the accusation.
According to Mr. Bagherzadeh's previous statement, 3 Iranian pilots were arrested and another pilot died after their fighter jets were shot down in March. The body of pilot Majid Kazemi was brought back to Iran and buried in Shiraz city, southern Iran, at the end of July.
The incident occurred amid escalating conflict between the US and Iran. On February 28, the US-Israel coalition launched attacks targeting Tehran and several other Iranian cities. Iran then responded with missile and drone launches targeting Israel and US bases and facilities in the region.
To date, Qatar has rejected the accusation of arresting Iranian pilots and has not disclosed information about whether to allow the Iranian expert team to investigate or not.
