Qatar Red Crescent Society pledges cooperation over captive Iranian pilots, says official

President of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), Pirhossein Kolivand, says the Qatari branch of the Red Crescent Society has pledged to cooperate with Iranian officials, and help follow up on the fate of three Iranian pilots captured in the Persian Gulf country.

Kolivand stated on Monday that there was evidence suggesting the three pilots may be in Qatar, calling on Qatar Red Crescent Society to explore its available channels and acquire information about their status.

The IRCS president added that the Qatari humanitarian organization should determine the fate of the three Iranian pilots to assuage the concerns of their anxious families, emphasizing the neutral humanitarian role of the Red Crescent Society and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Qatar Red Crescent Society officials have pledged to assist in following up on the case and obtaining information about the pilots, Kolivand pointed out.

Iran warns its captive pilots in poor health condition in Qatar, demands their immediate return

Iran has warned about the poor physical condition of its pilots held in Qatar and called for their immediate transfer to a hospital and return to Iran.

He also stressed the need for expansion of cooperation in rescue and relief operations, training, and the exchange of know-how between the Iranian and Qatari Red Crescent societies.

This cooperation can be further developed by renewing and updating the previous memorandum of understanding between the two sides, the IRCS president highlighted.

According to Commander of the Missing-in-Action Search Committee of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, Brigadier General Seyyed Mohammad Bagherzadeh, following the start of the US and Israeli strikes against Iran in late February, some of which were launched from US bases in the region, two Iranian Army Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jets flew to Qatar on March 2 to conduct a military mission.

The fighter jets were hit by the “enemy’s air defense” on the way back, and the pilots ejected, he said.

While one of the four Iranian pilots in the jets was martyred, the rest were captured alive by Qatari forces.

The body of the fallen Iranian pilot, Majid Kazemi, was returned to Iran and buried in the southern city of Shiraz in late July.

Israel and the US launched an unprovoked aggression against Iran on February 28, assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, military commanders, as well as civilians, and destroying military installations as well as critical civilian infrastructure.

Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases and assets across the region.

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