A day after a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight was disrupted by a cockpit incident, US President Donald Trump suggested that Iran could be linked to the flydubai episode. Trump said the answer appeared to be “yes” based on information he had received, while stressing that the matter was still being verified.
Asked by a reporter whether he had been briefed about a possible connection between the alleged attacker and Iran, Trump said his team was investigating the matter.
“We’re working on that right now. We’ll be very open with it. Uh, I would say the answer based on what I’m hearing is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” Trump said.
When asked whether the United States would retaliate against Iran if it were found to be responsible for the attack, Trump said:: “Oh, they’ll be hit very hard, don’t worry.”
There is currently no official evidence establishing Iranian involvement in the incident. The reporter also asked Trump whether the co-pilot could have been placed aboard the aircraft by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or radicalised before allegedly attempting to bring the plane down. Trump responded, “Could have been, yeah.”
Earlier, Trump praised Indian Captain Smit Machchhar, who was stabbed by the co-pilot, calling him a “hero” for confronting the knife attack, opening the cockpit door and seeking assistance, thereby helping prevent an alleged attempt to crash the aircraft.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also questioned about the matter during an interview with Fox News on Thursday. He said it was too early to establish whether the co-pilot had any connection to Iran or to any other party.
“I think it’s too early to say whether he had any connections with Iran or with anyone else,” he said.
Netanyahu did, however, say that the co-pilot had undergone Islamist radicalisation. “We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” he said, adding that investigators appeared to have reached this conclusion based on information found in the man’s personal belongings.
Wednesday’s flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv was involved in a serious cockpit incident that nearly ended in disaster. Passengers and the captain reportedly overpowered the co-pilot and prevented him from crashing the aircraft. Two reserve pilots who were travelling on the flight subsequently took control and landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.
