Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it was “seriously” pursuing the fate of three Iranian pilots in Qatar and would continue seeking clarification of their status.

Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqhaei said Tehran had been following the pilots’ fate since the first day it learnt of their situation.

He added that Iran made its first correspondence with the International Committee of the Red Cross on March 15 to seek information about the pilots. “The demand to clarify the situation of the Iranian pilots is very serious,” the spokesman said.

“As long as the situation of our three pilots is not clarified, it means that they have been taken prisoner.”

The comments come amid a dispute between Tehran and Doha over the fate of aircrew members following the shooting down of Iranian Su-24 aircraft by Qatar during the opening days of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Qatar has denied holding Iranian pilots and said its forces recovered the remains of one pilot after the March 2 incident. Doha says it invited an Iranian team to Qatar to receive details of its search-and-rescue operation but that Tehran had not responded.