US President Donald Trump has said that if it is confirmed that Iran was involved in the attack on the pilot of a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, it will be hit with a "very lethal attack".
President Trump said that the co-pilot of Flydubai who is accused of allegedly trying to crash a passenger plane bound for Israel, may have ties to Iran. Trump said he was saying this "based on what he's hearing."
Trump said Thursday, "We're working on it right now. They're being very open about sharing information with us. Based on what I'm hearing, I would say the answer is 'yes'."
Asked by a reporter whether the United States would retaliate if Iran were found guilty, Trump said the Iranians would be " dealt a very severe blow."
On Wednesday, 174 passengers (including 166 Israeli citizens) aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Israel, had to make an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia, even two days after this incident, the motive of the attacker is not clear.
According to the BBC Arabic service, according to the passengers' statements, the co-pilot attacked the captain with a knife with the intention of crashing the plane, as a result of which the plane descended five thousand meters in one minute. However, despite being injured, the captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing the passengers to enter the cockpit and subdue the attacker.
The investigation into the incident is still ongoing, but Israel has strongly condemned it, calling it an "attempted jihadist terrorist attack."
Anwar Gargash, advisor to the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Friday praised the courage of flydubai pilot Smit Mosquito, who was attacked by his co-pilot during the flight.
Gargash wrote in a post on
He added, "Rather than easily downplaying what happened or spreading and promoting conspiracy theories, it is important to exercise vigilance and caution in the face of the dangers of extremism and terrorism."
The region has been relatively quiet in recent weeks, as the US has not launched any attack on Iran since September 1. However, ships have been repeatedly targeted in the Strait of Hormuz.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war, which began with the first American and Israeli attacks on Iran, have failed more than seven months later.
In an interview with Time magazine published Thursday, Trump talked about a "potential" increase in attacks against Iran after the midterm elections in early November.
Multiple media outlets reported that the US Department of Defense Pentagon has decided to send an aircraft carrier and other ships to the area, which are expected to arrive by the end of November.
These ships have additional support of nine to ten thousand military personnel including two thousand marines.
There are currently two US aircraft carriers deployed in the Middle East, and it is not clear whether that number will increase to three or whether one of the two ships in the area will be withdrawn.
According to the Axios website, citing official US sources, the US recently sent two additional Patriot missile defense batteries to protect oil and gas targets in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that an emergency meeting of the Strategic Defense Political Committee, formed under the agreement between Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, will be held next week, in which the attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia will be discussed.
These three countries had signed the "Mecca Agreement for Joint Defence" in August. This agreement was reached a few weeks before Iran-backed Yemen's Houthi group launched attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Three sources close to the matter told news agency Reuters that EU countries discussed a proposal from France on Friday.
In this, parallel to the release of 50 million barrels of crude oil by the International Energy Agency, it was said that 500 million barrels of crude oil would be released from the European diesel reserves.
The proposal comes after US pressure to release more supply into the markets in an effort to reduce fuel prices due to the war with Iran.
According to two sources, the US has requested major European countries, including France and Germany, to release 100 million barrels of diesel within 20 days.
Under France's proposal, European countries would release a portion of the proposed quantity within this time frame.
According to a source, European governments have discussed demanding a concrete promise from the US not to impose a unilateral ban on diesel exports in exchange for any agreement to further reduce their diesel inventories.
The Elysee Palace (the official residence of the President of France) has announced that President Emmanuel Macron will chair a video conference of G7 leaders on Friday afternoon to discuss the global energy situation.
The Elysee Palace said Macron spoke to Trump overnight and stressed the need for cooperation to tackle rising fuel prices and ensure the availability of refined petroleum products globally.
Oil prices fell more than two percent on Friday following news of the talks, and European diesel futures fell nearly five percent.
The Trump administration is considering a possible ban on US diesel exports to reduce domestic fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections on November 3.
On the other hand, European countries are facing the challenge of maintaining a balance between reducing rising fuel costs and maintaining emergency reserves.
The major reason for this is the uncertainty regarding oil supply from Gulf countries due to the war.
The proposed diesel volume is equivalent to about 17 percent of the EU's total emergency reserves of diesel and gas oil, according to data from the European Statistical Office up to May 2025.
In March, International Energy Agency member states agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from strategic oil reserves under coordination, the largest such withdrawal ever.
The agency's executive director, Fatih Birol, said this week that member states have released about two-thirds of that amount.
The US has imposed sanctions on Iran's railway and automotive sectors as well as foreign suppliers of these sectors, the US Treasury Department said on Thursday, the latest step in US efforts to isolate Iran economically.
The sanctions are part of an "economic boycott" process announced by the ministry on August 24, which aims to cut off Iran's war, missile industry, cyber attacks and financial support to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
The move expands the scope of US economic pressure on Iran from sea to land, and targets areas on which Iran has been dependent since the naval blockade halted oil supplies from the Strait of Hormuz.
