Trump blames Iran for flydubai incident, Vance ‘defers’, says ‘nothing conclusively yet’
US President Donald Trump said he personally believed Iran was responsible for the foiled flydubai incident, while ice President JD Vance said he had not seen conclusive evidence linking Tehran to the attack.“I do. I personally do,” Trump said when asked whether he believed Iran was behind the incident.Trump did not provide evidence to support his assertion of Iranian involvement.Vance said the matter was being assessed by US intelligence agencies.“That’s something that I defer to (CIA Director) John Ratcliffe and some of the intelligence folks on,” Times of Israel quoted Vance as saying.“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,” he added.Asked about concerns over foreign pilots flying in the US, Vance said authorities needed to be cautious about people entering the country and their suitability to operate aircraft.“Anytime you have any person coming from outside the United States, you’ve got to be extra careful that that person is actually a good human being and is going to contribute to American society.“That’s the story of the 9/11 terrorist attack — We brought a lot of people into the United States of America who shouldn’t have been here and certainly shouldn’t have been flying planes,” he said.Vance also said the flydubai suspect had previously raised concerns, adding that the US was reviewing its procedures to prevent people considered flight risks from operating aircraft.The UAE is leading an international investigation into the September 30 incident involving a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The co-pilot allegedly stabbed pilot Smit Machchhar and attempted to take control of the aircraft, which was carrying 170 passengers, before the attack was thwarted by crew and passengers.
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