Washington — President Trump on Thursday suggested that the FlyDubai co-pilot who allegedly attempted to crash a passenger plane en route to Israel may have links to Iran, stating, "based on what I'm hearing," but did not provide further details. This statement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that it was "too early to say" if Iran was involved in the incident, where a FlyDubai co-pilot allegedly stabbed his captain and tried to crash the aircraft on its approach to Tel Aviv from Dubai. The captain managed to unlock the cockpit door, and passengers subdued the co-pilot before off-duty pilots executed an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
"We're working on it right now," Trump said on the White House South Lawn when asked about the co-pilot's potential links to Iran. "They're being very open with us. I would say the answer, based on what I'm hearing, is yes. But we're working on it right now." When asked if the co-pilot could have been placed there by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or radicalized in another way, Trump replied, "Could've been, yeah."
Netanyahu, speaking to CBS News on Wednesday, stated that the co-pilot's motives remain unclear, adding, "I don't think it was a hijacking. I think it looks like a suicide attempt." He also mentioned that the co-pilot is currently being interrogated in Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu further stated to Fox News that Israel was aware the co-pilot had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination." If Iran is found to be behind the thwarted attack, Trump indicated that the U.S. would retaliate, saying, "Oh, they'll be hit very hard. Don't worry. You just ask them — they know what happens. They'll be hit very hard." The co-pilot has not yet been publicly identified. An Omani official informed CBS News that the attacker was born in Oman and holds Omani citizenship, although the Omani government has not publicly confirmed his nationality. Emma Nicholson contributed to this report.