Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni says a technical delegation will travel to Qatar to continue discussions over the situation of Iranian pilots held in Qatar.

Momeni, who traveled to Doha for talks with Qatari officials, said negotiations have already been held on the issue of the Iranian pilots “and it was decided that a technical delegation would visit again and hold meetings as part of continuing the work.”

The case dates back to March 2, when two Iranian Air Force Su-24 aircraft carried out a mission against Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar during the US-Israeli aggression against Iran.

The aircraft were struck by “enemy air defense” systems while returning from the mission, forcing the pilots to eject.

One of the four Iranian pilots, Majid Kazemi, was martyred, while the other three — Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Emran Behrouzian — were captured alive by Qatari forces.

Kazemi’s body was later returned to Iran and buried in the southern city of Shiraz in late July. Doha initially denied that the pilots had been captured by Qatari forces.

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.

The Iranian interior minister also praised Qatar’s mediating role in regional developments, alongside Pakistan, saying the two sides had discussed recent regional developments.

“We discussed regional developments and expressed our appreciation for the fair and mediating role of Qatar, together with Pakistan,” he said.

“Discussions were held with the hope that they will lead to a reduction in tensions, remove the shadow of war from the region, and establish peace and stability throughout the region,” Momeni added.

Emphasizing the need for regional cooperation, the minister said security should be generated from within the region.

“Security is an integrated whole, and security must be endogenous,” he said. “The countries of the region must interact with one another and establish security.”

Momeni also described discussions on bilateral trade relations as constructive, saying the two sides had discussed ways to increase economic interaction.

“We discussed and made decisions regarding trade relations between the two countries and increasing interactions,” he said.

He highlighted Qatar’s special position in Iran’s foreign policy, stressing Tehran’s focus on neighboring and regional countries.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran attaches particular importance to neighboring and regional countries. Regionalism and neighborhood relations are the definite policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.

He added that an expert-level meeting would immediately follow the talks to implement the agreements reached between the two sides.

“Immediately after this meeting, an expert-level meeting will be held to implement the agreements, and the agreements will be implemented there according to a specific timetable,” Momeni said.

He stressed the need to expand bilateral relations not only in trade and economic affairs but also in cultural, political and security fields.