US President Trump: Co-pilot involved in flight from Dubai to Israel linked to Iran, investigation ongoing
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday on the South Lawn of the White House that, according to the information he has received, the co-pilot involved in the flight from Dubai to Israel is linked to Iran, but the investigation is still ongoing. He did not provide evidence.
When asked if he had received briefings related to Tehran, he said he was verifying, "Based on what I have heard, the answer is yes." When asked if it was possible that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had infiltrated or that the co-pilot had been radicalized in other ways to attempt to crash the plane, he replied that it was possible. If it is confirmed that Iran is behind it, he said they would face a very heavy blow.
Israel's working hypothesis has not changed. An Israeli official told the media that the co-pilot acted alone and did not represent any party, and the investigation is ongoing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News that it is too early to say whether Iran was involved. He has ordered tighter checks on pilots flying to Israel and has spoken with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who agreed to allow Israel to join the questioning of suspects.
The incident occurred on Wednesday on flydubai flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, with about 174 people on board, most of whom were Israelis. The co-pilot stabbed the captain and attempted to sabotage the aircraft, causing it to descend nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. The injured Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, opened the cockpit door, and passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot, while another group of flydubai pilots made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The flight had issued a hijacking code 7500.
The co-pilot, who is Omani, was detained by Saudi authorities and had been with flydubai for less than a year; his motive has not been disclosed. The UAE has launched a formal investigation, and Oman has not publicly commented. The airline stated that the motive is unknown and has suspended flights to Israel. Netanyahu stated that the suspect has Islamist tendencies and appears to be acting in a suicidal manner. After a lengthy conversation with him on Wednesday, Trump referred to the co-pilot as possibly a terrorist or a madman, noting that this was based on hearsay and could not be confirmed.
Buyers are raising premiums for aviation insurance on Middle Eastern routes and Iranian risks, while sellers still consider the incident as an individual act in their security assessments. This is a risk premium driven by statements, not by investigative conclusions. Those benefiting are the pressure tools already enforcing port blockades and sanctions. Those under pressure are the Dubai to Tel Aviv route, flydubai's flights to Israel, and market pricing that treats "acting alone" as the baseline.
The South Lawn remarks framed the possibility as what he has heard while leaving it under verification. The Israeli official's judgment of individual action coexists with this statement.
Source: Public information
ABAB AI Insight
Flydubai is a low-cost airline in the UAE, and the Dubai to Tel Aviv route was opened as a civilian passage after the normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE in 2020. Flight FZ1073 brought cockpit security on this route directly into the conversations of the US President and the Israeli Prime Minister. Trump initially reiterated Netanyahu's version on Wednesday and stated that it could not be confirmed. On Thursday, he changed his stance to say it was related to Iran based on what he heard, while also stating that verification was ongoing. On the same day, he framed the choice regarding Iran as a contract or the other party no longer existing, placing the pilot issue within this decision framework rather than as a separate aviation accident framework.
Resources have not shifted to new military orders. The UAE is conducting a formal investigation, Saudi Arabia has detained the suspect, Oman has not publicly commented, and Israel is joining the questioning and tightening pilot checks. What the US can mobilize is public attribution and a warning of "if confirmed, there will be a heavy blow." The two options provided by reporters—IRGC infiltration or self-radicalization—were both answered as possible by Trump, without providing briefing content. The airline's suspension of flights to Israel is an immediate commercial action.
A comparison can be made to the 2015 Germanwings flight 9525, where the co-pilot deliberately crashed the plane, and the investigation initially focused on personal motives rather than national attribution. It is also similar to the increased scrutiny of pilot backgrounds after 2016. The difference is that this incident occurs amid approximately seven months of ongoing US-Iran conflict, and the attribution itself will affect the blockade and airstrike calendar. The industry position is in a control phase. Routes can be suspended, but responsibility has not yet been determined. Israeli officials maintain the hypothesis of individual action, while the US President publicly states the possibility as yes.
Structurally, this represents a transfer of pricing power. The explanation for a cockpit attack shifts from civil aviation investigation agencies to political briefings. The mechanism is that the Hormuz and port blockades are already adding risk to oil prices, and linking the flight incident to Iran ties aviation insurance and crude oil premiums to the same decision-making process. Investigations can negate this layer of connection. Until such negation occurs, market pricing reflects the version heard by the President, not the evidence that has been published.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
- The investigation is not complete, but public attribution has already set pricing.
- For the same incident, security agencies and the President can hold different hypotheses.
- Routes can be suspended, but responsibility may not yet be determined.