President Donald Trump said Iran may be linked to the FlyDubai copilot accused of stabbing the captain and trying to crash an Israel-bound flight, while warning that Tehran would face a forceful response if its involvement is confirmed.
“We’re working on it right now,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked whether he had been briefed on links between the copilot and Iran. “I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now.” He provided no details.
Asked whether the United States would retaliate if Iran was behind the attack, Trump said: “Oh they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry.”
The Associated Press reported that investigators were still trying to determine the motive for the incident. The suspect, an Omani citizen, was under arrest, according to a regional official briefed on the investigation. The official said authorities were examining all possible scenarios, including terrorism and mental disorders, and that nothing had been ruled out.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect had undergone Islamist indoctrination but did not provide details. Asked about Iranian involvement, Netanyahu told Fox News that it was “too early to say.” Oman’s government had not commented.
The flight, carrying 174 people, mostly Israelis, was travelling from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv when the copilot allegedly stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar and caused the aircraft to enter a steep descent. Passengers and others on board helped gain control of the plane and restrain the copilot before it landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
The aircraft descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in about a minute, according to Flightradar24. The site identified it as a Boeing 737 Max 8. Captain Machchhar was in stable condition, according to the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia. The copilot’s name and condition were not known.
The United Arab Emirates said its investigation team was examining the attack and whether it was linked to a terrorist purpose. Saudi authorities were working with countries including Israel, the UAE, the United States and Oman to determine a motive, the regional official said. Israel requested that the copilot be sent to the country for investigation, though it was unclear whether that request would be granted.
Separately, a US official told The Associated Press that roughly 9,000 US troops were being sent to the Middle East aboard a group of ships. The group includes more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines, as well as the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group.
The deployment could bring three US aircraft carriers into the region by the end of October, according to the official, who spoke anonymously to discuss sensitive military operations. The move would raise the number of US sailors and Marines in the region to more than 20,000, alongside hundreds of aircraft.
Trump has also said further US strikes against Iran are possible. In an interview published by Time magazine, he said he could not provide details about his strategy and said he had rejected Iran’s latest ceasefire proposal as insufficient.
