Axios: ‘A new Iran-US conflict is looking increasingly likely’. Tehran: ‘Trump has got himself into a quagmire’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Saudi Arabia has arrested the pilot of the FlyDubai flight who stabbed the other pilot in an attempt to crash the plane, which was carrying a number of Israeli citizens. The Saudis are questioning the suspect, he added.

A passenger on board the flight bound for Israel, which made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia today, told AFP that they have now left Tabuk for Tel Aviv on board a new aircraft. The passenger told AFP via text message that boarding for the new flight had already been completed and that it had taken off.

The two pilots of the Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which declared an emergency and landed in Saudi Arabia, are one from the United Arab Emirates and one from Oman. This is according to Ynet. Previously, however, Channel 12 had reported that the two pilots were of Russian and Ukrainian origin respectively. According to Ynet, the Omani co-pilot is suspected of having attempted to crash the plane. Earlier, the Times of Israel had published unconfirmed reports, based on accounts from passengers on board, suggesting that one pilot had attempted to crash the plane and had been stopped by the other pilot with the help of the passengers. Some photos published by the Israeli media show a passenger on board the aircraft with a bloodstained T-shirt. One of the passengers told Channel 12: “We heard scream after scream, then we saw the cockpit door being opened and there was blood inside. We realised that someone on board had stabbed the pilot.”

This morning, a FlyDubai flight from Dubai (which took off at 5.05 am local time, 7.05 am in Italia) to Tel Aviv, in Israel – sent out a distress signal and was diverted to Saudi Arabia. The Israeli Air Force scrambled fighter jets in response to the incident, whilst Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz immediately convened a security meeting (Netanyahu cancelled a visit to the Gaza Strip to attend the meeting). Flight FZ1073, bound for Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, was carrying around 180 Israeli passengers.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737 Max 8, rapidly lost altitude as it approached Jordanian airspace.

Speaking to Yedioth Ahronot, senior officials from the Israeli aviation sector report that the possibility of a security incident on board the FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport has not yet been ruled out. According to an initial assessment, one of the pilots allegedly attempted to cause a crash, but the other is said to have managed to thwart the attempt with the help of some Israeli passengers

Rising oil prices, rising inflation and expectations of further interest rate rises by the ECB are also having an impact on the auctions in which the Treasury has placed BTPs. Yields at the auction of 5- and 10-year government bonds have, in fact, risen to their highest levels in the last three years, reflecting the upward trend already seen on the secondary markets.

The flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which had declared an emergency, landed a few moments ago at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. This has been reported by the Israeli media, which state that the incident – which caused the aircraft to transmit an ‘unauthorised interference’ signal and a general emergency signal – was apparently due to an altercation on board the flight, according to Israeli security sources. No further details are available at present.

A Flydubai scheduled flight (FZ 1073) en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv reported an emergency a short while ago, briefly transmitting a code indicating a hijacking, before descending to a suspicious altitude and diverting its course towards Saudi Arabia. This has been reported by several Israeli media outlets. Two Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled. According to Ynet, there are 150 passengers on board the flight. According to flight tracking data reported by FlightRadar and cited by the Times of Israel, the aircraft initially transmitted the transponder code 7700, an international emergency signal.

Iran has carried out the death sentence by hanging on two men who had taken part in protests in the north-eastern city of Mashhad in January, and whom the judiciary accused of the deaths of four police officers. Iran International reported this, adding that the judiciary had identified the two men as Ali Hemmati and Majid Nikandish and described them as “field agents” in what it termed an attempted coup. The executions took place after the Supreme Court upheld their sentences and the legal procedures had been completed, the judiciary stated. “The Iranian authorities have long resorted to vaguely worded charges, such as espionage, acts against national security, armed rebellion, hostility towards God and corruption on earth, to suppress dissent and eliminate political opponents. Human rights organisations argue that such labels are systematically applied to protesters, dissidents and political prisoners to portray them as security threats and provide a legal pretext for execution”, Iran International points out.

US President Donald Trump “has found himself in a quagmire from which he can neither negotiate nor fight his way out”. This was stated today by the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, during a meeting in Tehran with Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Shahin Mustafayev.

“Iran’s conditions have been conveyed to the United States, but Trump is unable to make a decision and the United States, out of desperation, has resorted to an aerial blockade in the military conflict,” added Rezaei, as quoted by Press TV.

Efforts made this week by Qatari mediators to facilitate a diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran have made little headway, as neither side has shown any willingness to compromise. Axios reports this, citing sources familiar with the talks, emphasising that the deadlock reinforces the belief on both sides that a renewed military conflict is becoming more likely. US officials believe that President Trump could order the resumption of major combat operations after the mid-term elections. According to two sources, Qatari officials will continue to try, but are growing increasingly frustrated with both sides. The Qatari mediator, Ali al-Thawadi, met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation for several hours in New York on Monday. A well-informed source stated that they discussed a two-page compromise proposal from Qatar. According to two other sources, Qatar’s plan aimed to satisfy both Iran’s demand for the lifting of the US naval blockade and the US demand for concessions on Iran’s nuclear programme. On Monday evening, al-Thawadi held talks in Washington with Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner and other US officials. Vice-President Vance also attended a brief part of the meeting. On Monday, US officials had told several news outlets that the talks had been “positive and constructive” and that Iran “had shown flexibility on the nuclear issue”. The officials even claimed that Trump was prepared to grant Iran an easing of sanctions and to unfreeze frozen funds in exchange for concrete measures to scale back its nuclear programme. But a few hours later, whilst the Qatari officials were still at the White House, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had offered Iran nothing. One of the sources stated that there had been no significant developments in the talks on Monday. “The situation is at a standstill. The Iranians are demanding things the US cannot accept, and the US believes it has the upper hand, so there is no room for compromise,” the source said.