Iran claims its pilots are detained in Qatar, in poor health
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- Iran seeks ICRC air ambulance for wounded pilot POWs.
- Tehran urges Qatar to transfer POWs to hospitals.
- Iran welcomes Kuwait access to four detained nationals.
- Tehran asks ICRC to arrange family video calls.
General Mohammad Baqerzadeh, Commander of the Search Committee for the Missing in the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to urgently dispatch an air ambulance to Qatar to transport severely injured and ill Iranian pilot prisoners of war (POWs) back to Iran, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.
While welcoming the Qatari government's decision to accept an Iranian technical expert delegation, Baqerzadeh stressed that holding wounded prisoners aboard offshore vessels or overwater locations is unsuited for their recovery.
He urged Qatari authorities to transfer the detainees to fully equipped onshore medical centers without delay.
Kuwait approves ambassadorial visit
Addressing developments in Kuwait, Baqerzadeh noted that Kuwaiti authorities gave initial consent for the Iranian Ambassador to visit four Iranian prisoners held in the country, describing the move as a positive step toward their eventual release.
He called on Kuwait to adhere to the four Geneva Conventions governing the rights of prisoners of war and to enable initial communication channels with their families.
Highlighting established international precedent, Baqerzadeh pointed to previous ICRC initiatives that provided video calling capabilities for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to communicate with their relatives.
He called on the ICRC’s regional office in the Arab states to take a proactive leadership role in implementing a similar video-communication mechanism for Iranian POWs while pursuing their swift release.
