U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday (October 1, 2026) that if Iran is linked to the copilot who tried to crash an Israel-bound flight, the Islamic Republic would be struck “very hard” for the attempt on the lives of more than 180 people aboard the jet.

Mr. Trump issued the warning as investigators worked to determine why the copilot stabbed the flight’s captain, causing the FlyDubai plane to plummet before others on board stopped the attack and landed the airliner in Saudi Arabia.

Asked by reporters at the White House whether he had been briefed about any links between the pilot behind the attack and Tehran, Mr. Trump said, “We’re working on it right now.” “I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” he said, without elaborating on why he suspected Iran might be involved.

Asked if the U.S. would retaliate against Tehran if it was behind the attack, Mr. Trump said, “Oh they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry. You just ask them. They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.”

His remarks came as diplomatic efforts to end the war appeared to have stalled. Iranian officials indicated on Wednesday (September 30, 2026) that they had received an official U.S. response to Tehran’s latest proposal to end the seven-month war, which Mr. Trump had publicly rejected just days earlier. The officials did not say what the response contained, or whether it was a rejection.

Mr. Trump said in a Time magazine interview published Thursday (October 1, 2026) that he would not accept proposals from Iran that “he wouldn’t have approved a year ago,” and left open the possibility of resuming bombing after the November 3, 2026, election in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the American military has dispatched about 9,000 troops aboard a group of ships to West Asia, a U.S. official said on Thursday (October 1, 2026). That could mean three carriers will be in the region as soon as late October, according to the official, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

Despite Mr. Trump’s public rebuff, mediators have continued working with Iran and the U.S. to try to broker a deal to end the fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz, according to officials who were not authorised to comment publicly.

Passengers got into cockpit to take control of jet

Passengers on the plane, which was carrying 182 people, mostly Israelis, from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv, described how the bloodied Indian captain managed to open the cockpit door to let them in, before they grappled with the copilot and stabilised a descent so sharp that the plane’s rudder was torn away.

“We felt helpless, suspended in midair, and I didn’t know who to turn to. But it was all instinct to survive,” Asaf Rajuan, who was among those who intervened, said in a statement shared by Israel’s presidency.

A regional official briefed on the investigation said the suspect, an Omani citizen, was under arrest, and confirmed that Saudi authorities were working with countries, including Israel, to determine a motive. The UAE, the U.S. and Oman were also involved, the official said. Saudi Arabia said the copilot had been handed over to the UAE.

“All possible scenarios, from terrorism to mental disorders, are being looked into. Nothing is ruled out for now,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without giving details, claimed the attacker had undergone Islamist indoctrination. Asked who had helped radicalise him, the Prime Minister told Fox News’s “Fox and Friends” that he did not know. When asked by AP how the Prime Minister knew the copilot had undergone indoctrination, Mr. Netanyahu’s office said it would not comment.

Mr. Netanyahu told Fox News that the suspect apparently got through a loophole in Israeli aviation rules that normally bar pilots from flying to Israel if they are from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, which Oman does not.

The copilot has not been publicly identified. Video shot inside the plane by Dr. Shota Musayev, a dentist who treated the captain, shows the copilot on his knees, with his hands tied behind his back.

Captain Smit Machchhar, widely praised as one of the heroes of the flight, was recovering in Abu Dhabi, the Emirati capital, the Indian government said on Thursday (October 1, 2026). It was not clear what weapon the copilot had used.

Israeli investigators will join the interrogation of the copilot

Israeli intelligence and security officials were in Saudi Arabia to help investigate the copilot, according to another regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Israel has requested that the copilot be sent to Israel for the investigation, though it was unclear if that request would be granted, the official said.

Saudi Arabia does not have formal diplomatic ties with Israel, but the countries have long cooperated on security and intelligence matters through alternative channels.

The UAE government said its own investigation team had begun looking into the attack and “whether it was linked to any terrorist purpose,” noting that Emirati authorities had jurisdiction because the plane was registered there and UAE law applies to crimes committed on board.

Asked if there was any indication of Iranian involvement, Mr. Netanyahu told Fox News it was “too early to say.” He said he had also spoken with the UAE’s President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who agreed that Israel would join the interrogation of the suspect.

On Wednesday (September 30, 2026), Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House that he and Mr. Netanyahu had discussed the incident “at length” by phone. He said it seemed as though the copilot “was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job.”

Oman’s government has not commented. Mr. Netanyahu had warned in recent days of heightened security threats, though he told CNN that Israel had received no specific warning. The country is a week away from the anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza, and weeks away from an election.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said most of the people aboard the flight were from Israel, along with others from India and the UAE. The U.S. State Department said four passengers held American citizenship.

Someone in cockpit sent out discreet distress codes

Someone in the cockpit sent out two four-digit codes to discreetly signal distress while the plane flew erratically near the Jordanian border with Saudi Arabia, according to Flightradar24.com. The first code was “7700,” the universal “squawk” signal for an emergency, followed by “7500,” which indicates unlawful interference, including a possible hijacking. The codes are used by pilots when it is impossible or dangerous for them to speak over the radio.

FlyDubai said on Wednesday (September 30, 2026) that the jet was secured by on-duty crew members “who diverted and landed the aircraft safely.” A regional official said the crew members were pilots in training.

In the chaos that began about two and a half hours after take-off, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in about a minute, before making an erratic circle close to the Jordanian border and landing in Tabuk, according to Flightradar24.

Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, on January 8, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP