US President Donald Trump said Monday he "personally" believes Iran was responsible for the September 30 flydubai incident where Indian pilot Smit Machchar was stabbed by Omani co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami.
Trump's comments came even as US Vice President JD Vance told reporters on his way to Alaska Monday that there is "nothing conclusive" linking the incident to Iran.
UAE authorities, who are investigating the incident, have not given a conclusive verdict on who was behind the attack as the probe continues. al-Hammami has been handed over to the UAE after initial interrogation by authorities in Saudi Arabia.
Deep Dive
What evidence links Iran to the Flydubai incident?
How did Captain Smit Machchhar manage to prevent a disaster during the Flydubai incident?
What security lapses allowed the Omani co-pilot to attack during the Flydubai flight?
As Trump boarded Air Force One Monday afternoon, a reporter asked him about Iran's involvement in the flydubai incident. "I do. I personally do," Trump said.
Also read: Pilot Uses Simulator Visualisation To Show Possible Sequence Of Flydubai Incident
However, when reporters asked Vice President JD Vance about it as he and Second Lady Usha Vance departed for Alaska Monday, the Ohio Republican was much more cautious. Instead of commenting directly, he said he would defer it to the CIA Director, as the latter is better equipped to comment.
{{/usCountry}}However, when reporters asked Vice President JD Vance about it as he and Second Lady Usha Vance departed for Alaska Monday, the Ohio Republican was much more cautious. Instead of commenting directly, he said he would defer it to the CIA Director, as the latter is better equipped to comment.
{{/usCountry}}"That's something that I defer to John Ratcliffe and some of the intelligence folks on," JD 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 We Know So Far About The Investigation
Officials in Israel, UAE and Saudi Arabia have characterised the flydubai incident as a "terror attack." But questions remain about whether the attacking co-pilot acted alone or was part of a larger terror plot.
NBC News reported, citing US officials briefed on the probe, that investigators believe the Omani co-pilot acted alone rather than as part of a larger organisation. The report cautioned that the probe is in its "early stages."
UAE Attorney General and Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi had said on October 3 that a preliminary probe indicated that Hamam 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," he said, noting that they are working to establish the “full circumstances, motives, and any links.”
Also read: How Israel-UAE intel failure nearly led to flydubai catastrophe; what next? Shishir Gupta explains
Later, Reuters reported that the interrogation of Hamam al-Hammami revealed that he had planned to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. It was also revealed that al-Hammami had planned to crash another plane into Tel Aviv earlier this year but dropped the plan eventually.
The plane was carrying 174 passengers, mostly Israelis, from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Captain Smit Machchar opened the cockpit door in time, and the passengers subdued al-Hammami. Two flydubai pilots flying as passengers then took control of the aircraft and landed it safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.