Trump vows to hit Iran ‘very hard’ if linked to flydubai attack

US President Donald Trump has stated that if Iran is linked to an alleged attack by a co-pilot on a flydubai flight to Israel, Tehran will be hit "very hard". The incident involved a co-pilot who allegedly stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the plane on its approach to Tel Aviv from Dubai. The captain was able to unlock the cockpit door, and passengers overpowered and subdued the co-pilot before off-duty pilots made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

According to Trump, based on what he's hearing, it appears the co-pilot is linked to Iran, although he did not provide further details. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has said it's too early to determine if Iran was involved, suggesting instead that the incident may have been a suicide attempt. Trump also mentioned that it's possible the co-pilot was placed on the flight by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or radicalized in some other way.

Trump made these comments after speaking with Netanyahu about the incident. Netanyahu told CBS News that the co-pilot's motives are still unknown.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, NDTV, CBS News, The Hill, Haaretz — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.