DUBAI, October 2, 2026 — United States President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran was likely behind the midair attack on a flydubai flight to Israel, warning Tehran it would be “hit very hard” if investigators confirm an Iranian link to the foiled cockpit assault.
Speaking to reporters at the White House before departing for campaign stops in Texas, Trump said the information reaching him pointed toward Iranian involvement in the attack on flight FZ1073, though he acknowledged officials were still working to verify it.
“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 Iran was behind the incident, according to wire reports of the briefing.
Asked whether Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could have placed the co-pilot or radicalised him through another route, Trump replied: “It could have been, yeah.”
“They’ll be hit very hard”
When pressed on whether Washington would retaliate against Tehran if evidence of its involvement emerged, the president was blunt: “Oh, they’ll be hit very hard, don’t worry. You just ask them. They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.”
Trump presented no public evidence linking Tehran to the incident, Israeli media reported, noting the president said he was receiving information from sources inside the investigation.
The president’s remarks marked a sharp escalation of rhetoric around the incident, which investigators in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are still treating as an open probe into the motive.
Netanyahu urges caution on Iran link
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has described the co-pilot as having undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination,” told reporters Thursday it was “too early to say” whether the attacker had any direct connection to Iran.
Saudi Arabia, the United States, Oman and Israel are all involved in the investigation, according to regional media. Israeli officials travelled to the kingdom to assist with the probe and have requested that the suspect be transferred to Israel for questioning — a request whose status remains unclear.
Co-pilot in UAE custody
The accused Omani co-pilot is now in the custody of Emirati authorities after Saudi Arabia handed him over Thursday morning. The Saudi Interior Ministry said its initial probe found the co-pilot had assaulted the captain during the flight, and both pilots were treated in hospital in Tabuk before being cleared to fly to Abu Dhabi.
The UAE Attorney General has formed a specialised team of prosecutors to lead the criminal investigation, which will examine the motive and whether the assault was linked to terrorism.
Flight FZ1073, carrying 174 passengers including 170 Israelis, was en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when the co-pilot attacked Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit at 36,000 feet, according to official accounts. The aircraft plunged thousands of feet before passengers helped subdue the attacker and off-duty pilots aboard regained control, landing the Boeing 737 MAX safely in Tabuk.
Wider standoff with Tehran
Trump’s warning came alongside a harsher tone on the broader confrontation with Iran. In an interview with Time magazine published Thursday, the president said it was “possible” he would resume bombing Iran after the U.S. midterm elections next month, and reiterated his threat to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic — language he first used in his address to the UN General Assembly last week.
