US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened Iran with a "very strong strike" if its involvement in the attack on the pilot of a Flydubai plane was confirmed during a flight to Tel Aviv, adding that he "likely believes this hypothesis."
Trump said that the Iranians "will take a very strong blow," in response to a journalist's question about whether the United States would respond if Tehran was proven responsible.
Two days after the Flydubai plane made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, carrying 174 passengers, including 166 Israelis, according to the media, the attacker’s motives are still unclear.
According to the passengers' account, the co-pilot stabbed the captain with the aim of shooting down the plane, which descended five thousand meters in one minute. However, despite his injury, the captain was able to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter the cabin and control the attacker.
The results of the ongoing investigations have not yet appeared, but Israel denounced what it called an “attempted jihadist terrorist attack” aimed at undermining relations between Israel and the Emirates. The Israeli airline “El Al” announced the cancellation of flights scheduled for Friday to return Israelis from Dubai, after “Fly Dubai” suspended its flights to and from Tel Aviv following the thwarting of the attack, while the Ministry of Transport clarified that Israel has not yet obtained the required approval from the United Arab Emirates to operate the flights.
During a chat with reporters at the White House, Trump said he believes Iran is involved in the operation, explaining, “I say the answer is yes, based on what I hear, but we are working on this matter at this very moment.”
A "possible" intensification of attacks after the midterm elections
The region has witnessed relative calm in recent weeks, as the United States has not launched any strikes on Iran since September 1, despite repeatedly targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz. However, diplomatic efforts to end the war are faltering more than seven months after its outbreak with the first American and Israeli strikes on Iran.
In an interview with Time magazine published Thursday, Trump spoke of a “possible” intensification of attacks against Iran after the midterm elections scheduled for early November.
Several media outlets reported that the Pentagon decided to send to the region an aircraft carrier and other ships that departed in recent days and are expected to arrive at the end of November, representing reinforcements numbering between nine thousand and ten thousand military personnel, including two thousand Marines.
The United States currently deploys two aircraft carriers in the Middle East, and it is not clear whether the number will increase to three or whether one of the two currently existing ships will be replaced.
Axios reported, based on official American sources, that the United States recently sent two additional batteries of the Patriot anti-missile system to protect oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Washington intensifies its pressure on Europe regarding diesel
Washington stressed on Thursday that Europe has an “interest in cooperating with the United States” in providing sufficient quantities of fuel to the markets, while Brussels responded that Washington’s restriction of diesel exports is an undesirable idea.
A US official said that Europe has an "interest in cooperating with the United States" seeking to "explore a range of paths to enhance supplies of refined products."
Media reports stated that the administration of US President Donald Trump wants some European countries, led by France and Germany, to put on the market quantities of diesel fuel from their strategic reserves, in an effort to curb the significant rise in the price of this type of fuel. She indicated that Washington threatens to ban the export of American diesel if its request is not met.
European Union Trade Commissioner Maroš Ševković commented on this American position, considering that obstructing exports of this fuel used, especially in the transportation and agricultural sectors, would be an “unpleasant surprise.”
In a statement he made on the sidelines of the G20 meeting dedicated to trade held in the United States, he warned of “very serious consequences” for the European economy that might result from such a ban, but he did not confirm whether Washington had actually made such a threat.
The official stressed that high prices at gas stations constitute a "sensitive issue for citizens on both sides of the Atlantic," and also called for "cooperation to reduce prices."
Trump briefly expressed his support for the demand of some representatives to impose a temporary ban on American diesel exports in an effort to increase the quantities of diesel supplied to the market, which would lead to lowering its prices in the United States, but it seems that today he is no longer inclined to this option.
Sanctions on Iran's automobile and railway sectors
The US Treasury Department said that Washington imposed sanctions on Thursday on the Iranian railway and automobile sectors, along with foreign suppliers to these sectors, in the latest US effort to isolate Tehran economically.
