US President Donald Trump warned on Thursday that Iran would be “hit very hard” if it was found to be linked to the attack on a pilot on a Flydubai flight to Israel.
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The dramatic events of the day before saw passengers help prevent the plane from crashing, making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia before the plane’s passengers, most of them Israeli, were flown home to a hero’s welcome.
Trump’s warning comes as the United Arab Emirates opened an investigation into whether the incident was linked to terrorism and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect had undergone “radical Islamist indoctrination.”
“I would say the answer, from what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” Trump told reporters when asked at the White House whether Iran was involved in what happened on the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight.
Asked whether the United States would retaliate against Iran if it was found responsible, Trump replied: “Oh, they will be hit very hard, don’t worry.”
Trump’s threat coincided with a broader buildup of the U.S. military in the region.
Axios reported that Washington recently deployed additional Patriot missile batteries to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to help protect key energy facilities from possible Iranian retaliation.
The US newspaper also reported that the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group were heading to the Middle East, where they could join two other US strike groups already in the region.
As speculation swirled about a possible motive, the UAE and Saudi Arabia began piecing together the events in the cabin.
Saudi Arabia said the co-pilot was transferred to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday accompanied by an “Emirati security team”, adding that its initial investigation showed he attacked the plane’s captain.
The alleged assault sparked a struggle for control of the plane before an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The passengers were then flown to Israel on a replacement flight.
“Radical indoctrination”
“We know that he underwent radical Islamist indoctrination,” Netanyahu told the “Fox & Friends” television show, without elaborating.
“The attacker shouts to the crew: ‘Kill me, kill me,'” Netanyahu said, adding that it was “clear he was suicidal.”
His comments come after the UAE’s chief prosecutor said investigators would determine whether there had been “terrorist activity or intent”.
Netanyahu said the UAE would lead the investigation while Israel would participate.
He identified the co-pilot as an Omani national and said Israel would verify how he was allowed to work on flights to the country.
“We have constraints where you can’t have pilots from countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel. Obviously he was able to get through that,” Netanyahu told Fox News.
Netanyahu had previously credited Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, and passengers for averting disaster after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed him and tried to crash the plane.
Passengers described a rush into the cockpit and a struggle for control after the plane suddenly fell, losing about 17,000 feet of altitude in the space of a minute, according to the website Flightradar24.
Israeli officials called the incident an “attempted terrorist attack,” although Netanyahu, in a previous interview with CBS News, did not rule out the possibility that mental health was to blame.
“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.
“Hero”
Netanyahu then praised Machchhar “for his extraordinary bravery.”
The Indian ambassador to the UAE visited the injured captain, with the embassy saying he was “in good health and recovering well”.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as a “HERO,” saying his actions helped save lives.
Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon said the plane was “almost out of control” as the incident unfolded over Jordan.
“The co-pilot attempted to murder the pilot and, in effect, commit a suicide attack on the plane,” she told reporters.
“He was very close to crashing and it was simply down to the ingenuity of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralized him.”
Flydubai said another “on-duty flight crew traveling on the flight… landed the aircraft safely” and announced it was suspending flights to Israel while the investigation continued.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he would honor five Israelis who helped subdue the co-pilot and prevent the plane from crashing.
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