‘False flag’: Iran denies link to flydubai incident, says claims based on ‘fabricated evidence’

Iran has rejected as a "false flag" any attempts to link it to the flydubai incident wherein a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv underwent an alleged hijacking attempt. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said such allegations were based on "fabricated evidence", Tasnim news agency reported.

The remarks come even as multiple countries are probing the background of the flydubai co-pilot, who attacked the pilot-in-command with a crash axe and allegedly attempted to crash flight FZ1073 on Wednesday (30 September).

The Omani co-pilot, identified by multiple media outlets as Hamam al-Hammami, attacked pilot-in-command Smit Machchhar mid-flight. However, Machchhar was able to open the cockpit door even as the flight plunged about 14,000 feet, and allow passengers to enter and restrain al-Hammami. A second set of pilots who were on the flight then took control, and landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk.

What did the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson say?

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei dismissed any Iran links to the incident as "false flag". He was responding to claims linking Iran to flydubai incident as well as the security scare at the RAF Fairford base in Britain.

"This is merely a reminder of an experience that the world has witnessed for itself over the past seven months," Baghaei said at a press conference on Sunday, according to Tasnim. The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said such allegations must be viewed in light of Israel and some European countries' "history of using false-flag operations." He said Tehran was being accused "solely on the basis of fabricated evidence." "This is a worn-out tactic," he said.

UAE probing incident, multiple countries investigating background

The United Arab Emirates is leading the investigation, and had said on Saturday that its probe had revealed that the Omani co-pilot had attempted to carry out a "terrorist act."

UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the flight deck with a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, the state-run WAM news agency reported.

Meanwhile, authorities in Australia and Israel are investigating the Omani co-pilot's links to Australia and how he came to be part of the crew of a flydubai flight, PTI news agency reported citing multiple news reports. The Australian Federal Police said a counterterrorism team was investigating the man's links to Australia, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The co-pilot was reportedly issued a student visa in 2014 and studied in Australia between 2015 and 2017, before leaving the country, sources familiar with the case told Australian media. His visa was cancelled in 2019, ABC reported, adding that it was on the grounds that he was no longer a student there.

Hamam al-Hammami had been barred from flying by his own country because of his radical views, and questions have been raised on how a citizen of Oman – an Arab country which has no diplomatic relations with Israel – was able to fly the plane to Israel.