Trump claims Iran behind flydubai flight ‘terror’ incident despite Vance’s ‘nothing conclusive yet’ remark
US President Donald Trump on Monday said he personally believes Iran was responsible for the September 30 flydubai incident in which Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchar was stabbed by his Omani co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami.
Trump made the remarks even as US Vice President JD Vance adopted a more cautious position, saying there was “nothing conclusive” so far linking Iran to the incident.
The United Arab Emirates, which is leading the investigation, has also not reached a final conclusion on who was behind the attack. Al-Hammami was handed over to UAE authorities after being initially questioned by Saudi officials.
Trump claims Iran’s involvement
As Trump boarded Air Force One on Monday afternoon, a reporter asked him whether he believed Iran was involved in the flydubai incident.
“I do. I personally do,” Trump replied.
Vance differs
Vance, however, declined to comment directly on the alleged Iranian connection when reporters asked him as he and Second Lady Usha Vance departed for Alaska.
Vance said he would defer the matter to CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other intelligence officials, who he said were better placed to comment on the investigation.
“That’s something that I defer to John Ratcliffe and some of the intelligence folks on,” Vance said. “I don’t want to get ahead of any announcements there, but it’s certainly something that we’re looking at. But I wouldn’t say I’ve seen anything conclusively just yet.”
What investigation revealed so far
Officials in Israel, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have described the flydubai incident as a terrorist attack. However, investigators are still examining whether al-Hammami acted alone or was linked to a wider terror plot.
NBC News, citing US officials briefed on the investigation, reported that authorities believe the Omani co-pilot acted alone and was not part of a larger organisation. The report also noted that the investigation remains in its early stages.
UAE Attorney General and Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said on October 3 that a preliminary investigation indicated al-Hammami had planned to carry out a terrorist attack.
“Investigations into the incident involving flydubai flight FZ1073 found that the co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist attack,” Al Shamsi said, adding that authorities were working to establish the “full circumstances, motives, and any links” to the incident.
CNN reported that questioning of al-Hammami indicated that he had planned to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. Investigators also reportedly learned that he had considered crashing another aircraft into Tel Aviv earlier this year but eventually abandoned the plan.
The flydubai flight FZ1073 was carrying 174 passengers, most of them Israelis, from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the incident unfolded.
How a tragedy was averted
Captain Machchar, an Indian national, despite being injured, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to overpower al-Hammami. Two flydubai pilots who were travelling as passengers then entered the cockpit, took control of the aircraft and landed it safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
The investigation into the attack is continuing, with authorities yet to publicly establish whether al-Hammami acted independently or had any links to an organisation or foreign state.
This version keeps the Iran angle carefully attributed, especially because Trump’s assessment differs from Vance’s statement that there is no conclusive evidence.
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