00:20A new claim from Iran is raising fresh questions about a March air battle.
00:26Three Iranian pilots were allegedly captured alive by Qatar after their fighter jets were shot down.
00:34But Qatar is strongly denying that claim and calling it misleading.
00:40So what exactly happened?
00:42According to Iranian military commander Mohammad Bagherzadeh,
00:47two Iranian army Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jets flew toward Qatar on March 2 during an Iranian military mission against
00:58a U.S. base in the country.
00:59On the way back, the jets were hit by what Iran described as enemy air defenses.
01:06The pilots then ejected.
01:08And according to Iran's account, four pilots were involved.
01:13One of them, Majid Kazemi, was killed.
01:16The remaining three pilots, Iran says, were captured alive by Qatari forces.
01:23That is the central claim at the heart of this controversy.
01:27Iran says the pilots have not been allowed to contact their families,
01:31and that Iranian authorities have also been prevented from following up on their cases.
01:38Bagherzadeh has now appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross,
01:42asking for information about the pilots' health and calling for efforts toward their release.
01:49But this is where the story takes a dramatic turn.
01:52Qatar says the Iranian version is false.
01:55Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majid Al Ansari categorically denied that Iranian pilots were detained.
02:05According to Qatar, its forces established contact with the pilots after they violated Qatari airspace.
02:12Qatar says authorities attempted to communicate with them, but received no response.
02:18The Qatari side says its forces then followed their rules of engagement
02:22and took measures to defend Qatari territory in accordance with international law.
02:28Qatar also says the circumstances were clarified through official channels at the time.
02:34There is another important detail.
02:36Qatar says its search and rescue teams later searched for the remains of the pilots.
02:42The country also says it coordinated with Iran over the handover of the remains of one pilot who was recovered.
02:49And that directly conflicts with Iran's claim that three pilots were captured alive.
02:55So as of now, there are two completely different versions of what happened.
03:01Iran says three pilots survived and were captured.
03:05Qatar says it did not detain Iranian pilots and says the incident involved an airspace violation,
03:11defensive action, and a subsequent search for remains.
03:15The allegations also come against the backdrop of a much wider regional conflict.
03:21According to information released by Iran,
03:24Israel and the United States launched attacks against Iran beginning February 28th,
03:30with strikes reported in Tehran and other Iranian cities.
03:34Iran then responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases and military assets across
03:42the region.
03:43That makes this latest dispute especially significant, because if Iran's account is confirmed,
03:50the alleged capture of three military pilots would represent a major development in the conflict.
03:56But if Qatar's account is correct, then Iran's claim would portray the incident very differently from how Qatar says it
04:04actually unfolded.
04:05For now, there is no agreement between the two sides.
04:10Iran is demanding information about the alleged prisoners.
04:14Qatar says there are no detained Iranian pilots.
04:17And that leaves the biggest question unanswered.
04:21What really happened to the three pilots Iran says were captured?
04:25Until independent evidence, official records, or information from the International Committee of the Red Cross clarifies the situation,
04:34the claim remains disputed.
04:36And in a rapidly escalating regional conflict,
04:40that distinction between a confirmed capture and a disputed allegation could be critical.
04:58Subscribe to OneIndia and never miss an update.
05:02Download the OneIndia app now.
Comments