Iran has publicly accused Qatar and Kuwait of stonewalling separate investigations into detained or missing personnel, adding another dispute with its Gulf neighbours during the ongoing war. The dispute surfaced a day after the top U.S. Central Command officer visited the USS Abraham Lincoln as the carrier wrapped up a nine-month deployment tied to American operations against Iran.
Iran presses Qatar and Kuwait over detained personnel
Iran called on Qatar to admit an investigative team examining the fate of military pilots Tehran says Qatari forces captured, Reuters reported on Sunday, adding another dispute between Iran and its Gulf neighbours during the continuing war. Qatar denies holding Iranian pilots. Doha said its search-and-rescue teams recovered the remains of one pilot after Iranian aircraft entered Qatari airspace in March and failed to respond to attempts at communication.
Qatari authorities said they contacted Iran to arrange the return of the remains and invited Tehran to review details of the search operation, but received no response. Mohammad Baqerzadeh, who leads the missing-persons committee of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, said an Iranian Air Force expert and a fact-finding team had waited months for permission to enter Qatar. He accused Qatari officials of delaying the investigation and preventing the pilots' return, and asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene.
Baqerzadeh separately accused Kuwait of withholding information about four Iranians detained there. Iran said in May the men were affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and entered Kuwaiti waters after a navigation problem during a maritime patrol; Kuwait suspects them of planning hostile actions.
Carrier deployment nears its end amid scrutiny
The dispute emerged a day after U.S. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper visited the USS Abraham Lincoln as the aircraft carrier prepared to return home from a nine-month deployment, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Lincoln has spent more than 200 days in a combat zone and launched over 10,000 sorties during U.S. operations against Iran. Cooper called the deployment one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era.
His visit followed reports of supply shortages, plumbing problems and mental-health struggles aboard the carrier. Senate Democrats sought answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, warning that conditions may threaten the crew's well-being. Hegseth said reports about the ship had been misrepresented, and Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said a small number of mental-health cases were treated, no lives were lost and no meals were missed.
The U.S. plans to replace the Lincoln with another carrier and maintain its blockade of Iranian ports. Hegseth has said the operation could continue indefinitely, with ships rotated through the region as required.
Source: Economy News
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
