U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that Iran may be linked to an attempt by a flydubai co-pilot to stab the captain and crash an Israel-bound flight, warning that Tehran will face severe military retaliation if official investigations confirm its involvement.
The incident occurred aboard a flydubai flight traveling from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv carrying 182 passengers. An Omani co-pilot stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar in an apparent attempt to take control of the cockpit and crash the aircraft. Passengers assisted the wounded captain in overpowering the attacker, forcing an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
"They'll be hit, very hard, don't worry... You just ask them. They know what happened. They'll be hit very hard." — Donald Trump, President of the United States
While
President Trump alleged that the suspect had direct connections to state-backed
networks in Tehran, international investigators—including security services
from Saudi Arabia, Israel, the UAE, the U.S., and Oman—maintain that all
possibilities remain under active review. Israeli leadership cautioned that it
remains "too early to say" whether Iran was directly involved as
multi-national counterterrorism teams examine the suspect's background.
