President Donald Trump has publicly disagreed with Vice President JD Vance over whether Iran was involved in the foiled terror attack aboard a FlyDubai passenger flight that nearly ended in disaster.
Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson asked Trump on Monday, “On FlyDubai, do you think Iran was responsible for that terrorist attack?”
“I do, I personally do,” Trump replied.
Vance had offered a more cautious assessment earlier that day, telling reporters he had not seen conclusive evidence connecting the plot to Tehran.
He said any determination about Iranian involvement would be left to intelligence officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
“In terms of involvement with Iran, that’s something I defer to John Ratcliffe and some of the intelligence folks on,” Vance said before boarding a flight to Alaska with his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance.
“I don’t want to get ahead of any announcements there,” he added. “It’s certainly something we’re looking at, but I wouldn’t say I’ve seen anything conclusive just yet.”
Vance’s measured response contrasted sharply with Trump’s position. The president had already suggested last week that Iran was connected to the plot, saying it was based on “what I’m hearing.”
President Donald Trump said he personally believes Iran was behind the attempted terrorist hijacking of a FlyDubai flight bound for Tel Aviv last week. The crisis was brought under control after the captain’s heroic actions, passengers restrained the co-pilot and the plane was diverted.
Hours earlier, Vice President JD Vance said he did not know whether Iran was behind the attack and said the CIA and wider intelligence community would have to make that determination.
A FlyDubai aircraft at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
The conflicting statements highlight the difficult political and communications balancing act facing Vance as he weighs a potential presidential campaign next year.
Trump has openly pointed to Vance’s initial reluctance to support military action against Iran, while reports have said the vice president privately opposed the conflict before it began.
The war has become broadly unpopular and has damaged Trump’s approval ratings, although Vance remains a popular figure among Republican voters.
Trump has warned that Iran would be “hit very hard” if it was found responsible for the attack. He has also suggested that the co-pilot “could’ve been” an agent of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.
RELATED: No Arrests After Georgia Block Party Shooting Kills 2 and Injures Dozens
The Boeing 737 MAX was carrying more than 170 people, most of them Israelis, when the Omani co-pilot—identified in reports as Hamam al-Hammami—allegedly attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar with a crash axe inside the cockpit.
The alleged attacker’s identity has not yet been officially confirmed.
As the struggle continued, Machchhar managed to unlock the cockpit door. Passengers then overpowered the assailant after the aircraft plunged thousands of feet.
The flight was eventually diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where the suspect was arrested and Machchhar, along with other crew members and passengers, received medical attention.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Fox News interview last week that the assailant had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination.”
Though, unlike Trump, he stopped short of linking the suspect to Iran.
‘I think it’s too early to say whether he had any connections with Iran or with anyone else,’ the Israeli leader added.
Iran has denied responsibility for the attack.
Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, the captain of FlyDubai flight FZ 1073 who saved the passengers and crew from a terrorist hijacking attempt on September 30, 2025
Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, meets Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national and flydubai pilot who is under treatment after he was stabbed by a colleague aboard a plane, in an unidentified location in the UAE
Hamam al-Hammami’s LinkedIn profile photo
As of Monday evening, officials have not said what the motive for the attacks was.
However, a source familiar with the investigation told NPR that the co-pilot had planned to crash the aircraft into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport.
The source also relayed that the co-pilot is believed to have worked alone, an assessment at odds with that of the president.