WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he personally believes Iran was responsible for the recently thwarted terrorist attack on a Flydubai airlines, even as investigators haven't announced any conclusion that the suspect is tied to Iran or another foreign entity.
"I do. I personally do," Trump said when asked on Oct. 5 by a reporter whether he believes Iran was responsible for the foiled attack.
The United Arab Emirates is leading an international investigation into the Sept. 30 attack of Flydubai airlines pilot Smit Machchhar, who was stabbed by his co-pilot in an apparent effort to crash the plane carrying 170 passengers. The plane was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
Trump
did not cite any information to back his claim of Iranian involvement. Hours before Trump's remarks, Vice President JD Vance said U.S. intelligence officials had not verified Iran was involved.
"That's something that I defer to (CIA Director) John Ratcliffe and some of the intelligence folks on," 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."
Israeli officials have said the suspect is from Oman but have not released his identity.
Multiple U.S. officials briefed on the investigation, NBC News reported, say early indications are the suspect acted alone, not as part of a larger organization or in coordination with Iran or a different foreign actor.
Reuters, citing sources briefed on the UAE investigation, reported the suspect planned to crash the hijacked plane into Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv before he was subdued by his co-pilot, crew and passengers. The suspect planned to hijack and crash a different Tel-Aviv-bound plane earlier this year, but opted against doing so, sources told Reuters.
Trump told reporters on Oct. 1 that Iran will be "hit very hard" if it's determined they were behind the Flydubai attack. "I would say the answer, based on what I'm hearing, is yes, but we're working on it right now," Trump said when asked last week whether the suspect is linked to Iran.
The United States remains at war with Iran more than seven months after Trump ordered the first round of strikes on the country in an effort to eliminate the country's nuclear program. Trump has predicted Iran will agreed to a deal to end the war after the Nov. 3 midterm election.
Contributing: Reuters
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says he thinks Iran was responsible for Flydubai attack
