IRAN SAYS CAPTURED PILOTS ARE HELD ON WATER IN POOR CONDITION
An Iranian military official has renewed allegations that three pilots from two Su-24 aircraft shot down over Qatar are being held on water in poor physical condition.
Mohammad Bagherzadeh, commander of the Armed Forces General Staff’s committee for missing personnel, called on Qatar to move the pilots to land and transfer them to a properly equipped hospital as soon as possible, according to Tasnim.
He also urged the International Committee of the Red Cross to send an air ambulance to return the pilots to Iran, saying their current location was unsuitable for protecting their health.
Qatar last week rejected Iran’s assertion that the three pilots had been captured alive and held for about six months.
Doha said it recovered the remains of only one pilot after the Iranian aircraft were shot down in March and had invited Tehran to review details of the search-and-rescue operation.
The pilots were identified as Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behraveshian. A fourth pilot, Majid Kazemi, was killed and his body was returned to Iran in late July.
Iran has repeatedly called for a fact-finding team to be allowed into Qatar. Bagherzadeh said a team of Iranian Air Force experts has been waiting for months to conduct an on-site investigation, but Qatari authorities have obstructed the process.
The pilots’ families have reportedly been denied contact with them for six months. Iran has formally asked the Red Cross to intervene.
If Iran’s pilots are being held in poor condition and Qatar refuses access, what is Doha hiding. And how long can the Red Cross stay silent on a matter of life and death.-AsaliNews