TEHRAN — In a rare and
detailed public account, the spokesman for Iran’s armed forces has disclosed new information about a high-risk operation against the sprawling American military installation at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, confirming that four Iranian Su-24 fighter jets participated in the strike — but that the fate of three of the pilots remains unresolved, with Qatari authorities offering no explanation.
Brigadier General Muhammad Akraminia, speaking in a televised interview, described a mission of extraordinary complexity, carried out at extreme low altitude over open water, against one of the most heavily fortified American installations in the region. The strike, he said, was executed with precision, but the return flight ended in catastrophe when enemy aircraft intercepted the Iranian jets over Qatari airspace, shooting them down.
“Given the extensive presence of enemy air defense systems in the region, carrying out such an operation was inherently very difficult,” Akraminia said. “But the planning was carried out courageously, and the operation was entrusted to four brave pilots of the Air Force, among whom Martyr Brigadier General Pilot Majid Kazemi was one.”
General Kazemi’s remains have since been identified through DNA testing and returned to Iran, where he was buried with full military honors in Shiraz on Friday.
The other three crew members, however, remain unaccounted for.
“The Qatari side has so far claimed ignorance and, in fact, has not clarified the status of our three dear pilots,” Akraminia said, appealing directly to Doha to act “with more serious and responsible actions within the framework of international conventions and based on international humanitarian law.”
The operation, which took place during the recent war with the United States, targeted Al Udeid — a sprawling base that hosts thousands of American personnel and functions as the U.S. air command hub for West Asia. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Akraminia noted, the Americans invested heavily in the facility, transforming it into perhaps the largest U.S. air base in the region.
“Therefore, this base played a very prominent role in U.S. air operations against our country,” he said.
The mission’s flight path, he explained, was predominantly over the Persian Gulf — a tactical choice that compounded the danger.
“Identifying aircraft over land routes is more difficult because on land, the terrain has features and ups and downs that aircraft can hide among to approach the target,” Akraminia said.
“But over water routes, detecting aircraft is much easier — especially since Su-24 fighters are bulkier than other fighters, and this feature can easily make the aircraft detectable by the enemy.”
To evade detection, the pilots were forced to fly at dangerously low altitudes — roughly 30 to 40 meters above the water’s surface — a maneuver that demands exceptional skill and nerve.
“Despite all the hardships and extremely difficult conditions, the operation was completely successful and the target was hit,” he said.
Akraminia also addressed Iran’s broader military posture, emphasizing that Tehran had never placed any trust in the ceasefire agreement reached with the United States.
“Given the repeated records and the perennial treachery of the Americans, we had anticipated from the very beginning that this memorandum of understanding might be violated and war might break out again,” he said.
During the lull in fighting, he said, Iran used the time to replenish its forces — resupplying combat units and repairing damaged systems while simultaneously advancing production of new equipment.
He also revealed that Iran has recently deployed a new generation of drones with “very high efficiency,” the specifications of which, he said, would be announced in the coming days.
In a separate disclosure, Akraminia described strikes on Camp Buehring in Kuwait — formerly known as Camp Udairi — where some 250 U.S. helicopters were stationed at the time.
“With our substantial strikes, many of these helicopters were completely destroyed and many others were damaged and taken out of operational cycle,” he said.