Trump Says Flydubai Co-Pilot May Be Linked to Iran

Trump Says Flydubai Co-Pilot May Be Linked to Iran as Investigation Continues

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the Flydubai co-pilot accused of attacking the captain and attempting to crash an Israel-bound passenger plane may have links to Iran.

Trump made the comment while speaking to reporters outside the White House. He said preliminary information suggested an Iranian connection, but acknowledged that investigators were still examining the matter.

“We’re working on it right now,” Trump said when asked whether he had been briefed about a possible connection between the suspect and Tehran.

When pressed further, Trump said that, based on what he was hearing, the answer appeared to be yes. He did not provide specific evidence or details supporting the possible connection.

The incident involved a Flydubai flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 182 people aboard. The aircraft was forced into an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

According to investigators and officials, the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain inside the cockpit before the aircraft entered a rapid and dangerous descent.

Passengers and crew members managed to enter the cockpit and overpower the co-pilot, allowing other qualified pilots aboard the aircraft to help regain control.

Reuters reported that the aircraft descended nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds during the incident, before the crew eventually landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

The suspect is an Omani citizen and has been taken into custody. Authorities from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Oman and the United States have been involved in investigating the incident.

The motive remains unresolved. Investigators are examining multiple possibilities, including whether the attack was politically motivated, terrorism-related or connected to another personal or psychological factor.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also discussed the incident but has been more cautious about an Iranian connection, saying it was too early to determine whether Tehran was involved.

Netanyahu has separately claimed that the suspect had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination, although publicly available reports have not established who allegedly influenced him or whether Iran played any role.

Trump was asked whether the co-pilot could have been placed aboard the aircraft by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or radicalized independently.

The president responded that either possibility could have occurred, again without providing evidence or explaining what intelligence led him to raise the possibility.

Trump also warned that Iran would face severe consequences if investigators establish that Tehran was responsible for the incident.

“If Iran is behind” the attack, Trump said, Iran would be hit “very hard,” according to reports of his remarks.

The comments come amid already heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, with the United States and Iran involved in broader negotiations and a continuing dispute over regional security.

The incident has also renewed concerns about aviation security in the Middle East, particularly because the alleged attack came from someone inside the cockpit rather than an external threat.

Reuters reported that Flydubai has suspended flights to Israel while the investigation continues, adding another complication for regional aviation companies already dealing with the effects of the conflict.

Investigators are now expected to examine the suspect’s background, communications, travel history and possible contacts to determine whether the attack was independently motivated or involved outside actors.

For now, however, authorities have not publicly established an Iranian role. Trump’s statement represents a claim based on information he says he has received, while the formal investigation remains ongoing.