Trump threatens Iran with “very heavy” strikes if it is linked to the Flydubai incident

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened Iran with “very heavy” strikes if Tehran turns out to be linked to this week’s Flydubai incident. “If Iran is involved, it will be hit very hard,” Trump told reporters, adding that he had been briefed in detail on the case and that the suspected pilot “may have been” linked to Iran, as Al Jazeera reports.

The statement comes at a moment when tensions between Washington and Tehran are at their peak, after several months of war in the region. Trump gave no details on the evidence linking the pilot to Iran, but warned that the U.S. response would be harsh if Iranian involvement is confirmed.

The U.S. President also linked the war with Iran to the U.S. midterm elections, saying the conflict “should help” Republicans, since voters are against Iran developing nuclear weapons.

On rising oil prices, Trump was optimistic: “Oil will go down once Iran is finished, and they are practically finished. We are taking more oil out of the Strait of Hormuz now than before the war. We control the strait,” he said, adding that Tehran “will either sign a very fair deal, or it will no longer exist.”