Trump Threatens Iran With ‘Very Hard’ Response Over Flydubai Attack

US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran, saying it will be “hit very hard” if investigators determine that Tehran was behind an alleged attack aboard a flydubai flight bound for Israel.

The dramatic incident occurred Wednesday when the co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain, triggering a desperate struggle inside the cockpit. Passengers intervened as the aircraft plunged thousands of feet before the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The mostly Israeli passengers were later flown home on a replacement flight and welcomed as heroes.

Trump was asked at the White House on Thursday whether Iran had played a role in the incident.

“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes but we’re working on it right now,” Trump said.

Asked what the US response would be if Iran was found responsible, Trump responded: “Oh, they’ll be hit very hard, don’t worry.”

The warning comes as Washington reportedly strengthens its military presence across the region.

According to Axios, the US has deployed additional Patriot missile batteries to Saudi Arabia and Qatar amid concerns about potential Iranian retaliation against key energy facilities.

The report also said the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and its strike group were moving toward the Middle East, potentially joining two other US carrier strike groups already in the region.

UAE Investigates Possible Terror Link

As Trump raised the possibility of Iranian involvement, authorities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia continued investigating the incident.

Saudi Arabia said the co-pilot was handed over to the UAE on Thursday in the company of an “Emirati security team”. The country said its initial investigation found that the co-pilot had attacked the captain.

The alleged attack sparked a fight for control of the aircraft before the emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The UAE chief prosecutor has said investigators will determine whether the incident involved “terrorist activity or intent”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, claimed the suspect had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”.

“We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Netanyahu told “Fox & Friends”.

He said the suspect allegedly shouted “Kill me, kill me” at the crew and added that it was “clear he was suicidal”.

Netanyahu identified the co-pilot as an Omani national and said Israel would investigate how he was cleared to operate flights into the country.

“We have constraints that say that you can’t have pilots from countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel. Obviously he was able to go through that,” Netanyahu told Fox News.

Israel has described the incident as “an attempted terrorist attack”, although Netanyahu previously told CBS News that a mental-health explanation had not been ruled out.

“During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board,” Netanyahu said in a video message.

Passengers Helped Prevent Disaster

The captain, Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, was praised alongside passengers who rushed to the cockpit after the aircraft began losing altitude.

According to Flightradar24, the plane lost approximately 17,000 feet in altitude in about one minute.

Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon described the aircraft as “pretty much out of control”.

“The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane,” she said.

“It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralised him.”

Netanyahu praised Machchhar “for his extraordinary bravery”.

The Indian embassy in the UAE said the injured captain was in “good health and recovering well” after being visited by India’s ambassador.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also called Machchhar a “HERO”, saying his actions helped save lives.

Flydubai said another “on-duty flydubai crew traveling on the flight… landed the aircraft safely”.

The airline has suspended flights to Israel while authorities investigate the incident.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said five Israelis who helped overpower the co-pilot and prevent the crash would be honoured for their actions.

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