Iran says three pilots held in Qatar since March need medical transfer

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The head of Iran's General Staff Commission for Searching Missing Persons, Mohammad Bagher Zadeh, said three Iranian pilots have been held in Qatari custody since March and that their health condition is poor. Zadeh said the pilots are being held at sea and that the location is not suitable, calling on Qatar to transfer the detainees to a land-based hospital. The Iranian official also asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to send an urgent medical flight to Qatar and to expedite the repatriation of the sick pilots to Iran. Iranian authorities had previously announced that the three pilots were detained by Qatar during the U.S. campaign against Iran, a claim Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied. The dispute between the two governments over the pilots' status remains unresolved, with Iranian officials publicly pressing for their transfer and return while Doha rejects Tehran's account of how they came into Qatari custody.