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United States President Donald Trump secretly flew out of Turkey last month on a smaller plane than previously known due to an alleged assassination threat from Iran, The Washington Post reported on August 11.
According to a U.S. official who spoke to The Post, Trump boarded an Air Force One jet in Ankara on July 8, but then moved into a catering container attached to the plane. The container then ferried him to a smaller C-32A aircraft that flew him to Britain, while media and some officials were led to believe Trump was still on the bigger jet.
The Iranian threat had previously been reported by U.S. media as the reason that Trump did not fly out of Turkey aboard the new Boeing 747-8, gifted to the United States by Qatar, which he had used to fly into the country.
Trump, who was in Ankara for a NATO summit, said at the time he would be taking the older Boeing 747 so that members of the U.S. military at an airbase in Britain could tour the new plane.
The New York Times provided more details later. Citing two U.S. officials with knowledge of the threat, the newspaper revealed that U.S. intelligence picked up multiple streams of information.
The intelligence knew that there was a specific threat of a surface-to-air missile against Air Force One, meaning whichever plane was carrying the president, and that someone in the vicinity of the NATO summit had been spotted with a shoulder-fired missile.
In addition, the Iranians knew specifically where Trump was staying in Ankara, including which floor of the building, the officials said.
The information was deemed sufficiently credible to lead Trump and senior members of his administration to engage in an extraordinary decoy effort to get him out of Turkey.
The NYT noted that when Trump was snuck away from Air Force One, the presidential plane was allowed to depart as a decoy with numerous government officials and journalists on board, potentially endangering all of their lives. The officials included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as well as top aides Stephen Miller and Steven Cheung.
Interestingly, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel was the side that provided the U.S. with details on the alleged Iranian assassination plot involving the anti-aircraft missile.
Trump confirmed the reports about the last-minute plan swap in Turkey, without elaborating on the alleged Iranian assassination plot.
“I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane,” Trump said of sneaking off the presidential plane.
“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” he added. “I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for.”
Iran has not yet commented on these reports. The Islamic Republic has been publicly pledging to assassinate Trump since the U.S. killed Iranian Quds Force Gen. Qassem Soleimani in 2020. In addition, calls to “kill Trump” featured prominently throughout the mourning ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in July.
It is notable, however, that the alleged assassination plot came at a time when it made no sense for the Islamic Republic to attempt to target Trump. Talks with the U.S. were moving forward and the two sides had already signed a memorandum of understanding.
Israel’s reported involvement in uncovering the plot also raises the question of whether the signs detected by U.S. intelligence in Turkey were the result of a deception operation carried out by Israeli intelligence to sabotage the talks with the Islamic Republic.
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