Trump Warns Iran of Strikes Over FlyDubai Hijacking Attempt

The United Arab Emirates’ prosecutor general said Saturday that a FlyDubai co-pilot who attacked the plane’s captain with a crash axe during a September 30 flight to Tel Aviv “attempted to carry out a terrorist act,” according to Al Jazeera. The finding sharpens a threat President Trump made two days earlier to hit Iran “very hard” if the co-pilot is tied to Tehran.

The flight, carrying 174 passengers from Dubai, plunged roughly 17,000 feet after the co-pilot wounded Indian pilot Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit, according to NBC News. The captain held the attacker off long enough to unlock the cockpit door, and passengers along with two off-duty pilots aboard the flight subdued him and helped regain control of the aircraft, CBS News reported. The jet diverted to Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, for an emergency landing. No passengers were seriously injured, though the pilot suffered stab wounds and two crew members were hospitalized.

Trump’s warning

Trump told reporters Thursday that Iran would face a severe military response if investigators confirm Tehran directed or inspired the attack, which targeted a flight carrying mostly Israeli passengers, according to Euronews. Asked whether he believed Iran was involved, Trump said, “I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” according to CBC News.

Trump separately told Time magazine, in an interview published the same day, that resuming U.S. strikes on Iran after the November 3 midterm elections was “possible,” according to CBC News. The remark echoes language Trump used earlier in the week when he rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, reported in our desk’s coverage of Trump Rejects Iran’s Hormuz Plan as Rubio Expels Delegation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination,” according to NBC News. The UAE has not publicly named the co-pilot, though multiple outlets reported investigators identified him as Hamam al Hamami, described in some reports as an Omani national. He was arrested by Saudi authorities on landing and handed over to the UAE, which is leading the investigation, according to Al Jazeera.

No confirmed Iran link yet

Neither the UAE nor U.S. officials have presented public evidence tying the co-pilot to the Iranian government. Trump’s own comments acknowledged the investigation was ongoing, and the UAE’s “terrorist act” designation addressed the co-pilot’s intent during the flight rather than any state sponsor. Times of Israel reported that investigators were still working to establish a motive as of Saturday.

The episode lands amid an already sharp escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions. Washington has moved a third carrier strike group toward the Gulf, covered in US Sends Third Carrier Toward Gulf Amid Iran Troop Buildup, while the Treasury Department sanctioned Iran’s auto, rail and steel sectors on October 1, detailed in Treasury Sanctions Iran’s Auto, Rail and Steel Networks. Attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have also continued without pause, as our desk reported in Kuwaiti Tanker Hit in Hormuz as Attacks Continue Into October.

What happens next

The UAE-led investigation is expected to determine whether the co-pilot acted alone or with outside direction, a finding Trump has said would shape any U.S. military response. Until that determination is public, Trump’s threat functions as a conditional warning rather than an announced plan of action. A State Department spokesperson had not commented publicly on the UAE’s terrorism finding as of this writing, and Iran’s foreign ministry has not responded to the allegation that it was linked to the attack.

The incident adds a new variable to an already volatile month for the region, with oil markets, shipping insurers and U.S. allies in the Gulf all watching for whether the investigation produces evidence that could trigger the strikes Trump described.