US President Donald Trump has warned that Iran could face severe military retaliation if investigators establish that Tehran was behind an alleged attempt to bring down a Flydubai passenger aircraft bound for Israel.
Trump issued the warning on Thursday as authorities continued investigating an incident in which a co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain of the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, sending the aircraft into a dangerous descent before passengers and other crew members intervened.
The flight was ultimately diverted to Saudi Arabia, where it made an emergency landing following the cockpit confrontation. Investigators are examining the incident, while the identity and background of the co-pilot have also come under scrutiny.
According to SaharaReporters, Trump made the remarks while responding to questions from journalists at the White House about Iran’s possible involvement in the incident. When asked what would happen if Tehran was found to have orchestrated the alleged attack, Trump warned that Iran would be hit “very hard.”
The US president’s comments came as questions remained over the motive and possible affiliations of the co-pilot. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the suspect had undergone what he described as Islamist radical indoctrination, while the circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.
Trump’s warning adds another potential flashpoint to the already strained relationship between Washington and Tehran. In a separate interview with TIME published Thursday, the president said renewed US bombing of Iran after the November midterm elections remained possible if efforts to resolve the conflict fail.
The tensions have also coincided with a reported US military buildup in the Middle East. The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington was preparing to deploy a third aircraft carrier strike group and up to 10,000 additional troops to the region, with the USS Theodore Roosevelt among the forces involved.
However, no publicly established evidence has so far been presented to prove that the Iranian government directed or sponsored the Flydubai incident. Investigations into the co-pilot’s motives and any possible external links remain ongoing.
