Qatar has strongly denied Iranian allegations that it has been holding three Iranian pilots who disappeared after their fighter jets were shot down during the early days of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said on Saturday that Doha “categorically” rejected claims that Iranian pilots were being detained by Qatari forces, describing the allegations as misleading.

The denial came after Iranian media published a statement from General Mohammad Bagherzadeh, head of the Committee for Missing Persons at the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. In a letter, Bagherzadeh claimed that three pilots — Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behraveshian — had been captured alive by Qatari forces and held for six months.

According to the Iranian official, the pilots were involved in a mission targeting a military base in Qatar shortly after the outbreak of the conflict. He further alleged that they had not been allowed to contact their families or Iranian officials and called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to help determine their fate.

Qatar rejected the accusations, saying that the remains of one of the missing pilots had been recovered. Al Ansari said Doha had contacted Iranian authorities to coordinate the return of the remains but had received no response.

The dispute is linked to events on March 2, the third day of the conflict, when Qatar’s Defense Ministry announced that it had shot down two Iranian Sukhoi Su-24 bombers. It remains unclear whether the aircraft were being flown by the three pilots named by Iranian authorities.

The latest exchange highlights continuing tensions between Tehran and Doha following Iran’s regional military response to US-Israeli attacks, which included strikes targeting US military facilities and other locations across the Gulf region.

Qatar has previously condemned Iran’s attacks on its territory, describing them as “reckless and irresponsible.”