Trump suggests FlyDubai co-pilot is linked to Iran, “based on what I’m hearing”

October 1, 2026 / 4:04 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — President Trump on Thursday suggested the FlyDubai co-pilot who allegedly tried to crash a passenger plane en route to Israel is linked to Iran, "based on what I'm hearing," but did not provide further details.

The U.S. president went further than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said it's "too early to say" if Iran was involved when a FlyDubai co-pilot allegedly stabbed his captain and attempted to crash the passenger aircraft on its approach to Tel Aviv from Dubai. The captain was able to unlock the cockpit door, and passengers overpowered and subdued the co-pilot before off-duty pilots made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

"We're working on it right now," Mr. Trump said Thursday on the White House South Lawn when a reporter asked if the co-pilot is linked to Iran. "They're being very open with us. I would say the answer, based on what I'm hearing, is yes. But we're working on it right now."

Mr. Trump was also asked if the co-pilot was possibly placed there by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or radicalized some other way. "Could've been, yeah," Mr. Trump replied.

Netanyahu…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/