Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, said the location where the pilots were being held was unsuitable for their condition, Reuters reported.
He also called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to send an air ambulance to Qatar to speed up the return of injured and sick detainees to Iran.
***
Qatar has denied holding Iranian pilots, saying last week that the pilots had violated Qatari airspace earlier this year and failed to respond to attempts to contact them.
Doha said it had contacted Tehran to coordinate the handover of the remains of one pilot and invited Iranian officials to review details of its search and rescue operations. Qatar said it had received no response.
A Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday that an invitation remained open for an Iranian delegation to visit Qatar to discuss the pilots issue.
In his latest statement, Baqerzadeh welcomed Qatar’s decision to receive a team of Iranian experts and urged Doha to provide the delegation with the necessary cooperation.
Baqerzadeh previously said an Iranian Air Force expert and a fact-finding team had been waiting for months to enter Qatar, accusing Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying the investigation.
The dispute comes amid heightened tensions in the region and ongoing efforts by Tehran and Doha to resolve the circumstances surrounding the pilots.
