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Secret decoy flight
An Iranian assassination threat prompted a covert operation in which U.S. President Donald Trump secretly departed Türkiye during a NATO summit in Ankara last month, while the White House publicly said he was flying aboard Air Force One, according to the Washington Post as cited by Reuters.
“prompted by an Iranian assassination threat”
Reuters reported that Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey after taking the newly renovated Qatari-donated jet to Ankara for the NATO summit but using an older Air Force One when leaving the country.
The Washington Post said the deception operation was triggered by a credible threat to Trump, and that Trump was secretly shuttled by an airport catering truck to a smaller plane, an Air Force C-32A, for the flight’s initial leg to the United Kingdom.
Reuters reported that the C-32A carrying Trump flew to Britain and arrived at around 10:20 p.m., while the older Air Force One and media arrived minutes later, and pool reporting captured Trump climbing the steps of an older Air Force One in Ankara at 10:56 p.m. local time.
Blinds, catering cart
The Guardian reported that after Trump boarded the old Air Force One in view of television cameras, he was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck, with a US official telling the Post the credible threat set the “deception operation” in motion.
The Guardian also reported that journalists and some White House staff members remained unaware of Trump’s location, and that when asked why they had to keep their window shades shut, Trump said it was because they were “probably on a dangerous flight”.
In a White House statement provided to the Washington Post and quoted by Reuters, Communications Director Steve Cheung said, “there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” defending the security protocols on the Qatari-donated jet.
Reuters reported that the Qatari-donated aircraft is a Boeing 747 gifted to the United States by Qatar last year and refitted by defense contractor L3Harris Technologies, intended to serve as a temporary placement while Boeing struggled to deliver next-generation Air Force One planes.
What happens next
The operation took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, which borders Turkey, and Reuters said it was not clear how Trump was moved from the C-32A back to the older Air Force One after arriving in Britain.
“It was not clear, the paper said, how Trump was moved”
The Guardian reported that the administration had previously claimed Trump left Turkey on 8 July on the former Air Force One, while the Washington Post said the decoy operation occurred on July 8 during Trump’s NATO summit visit to Ankara.
EFE reported that U.S. authorities developed a secret strategy to discreetly remove Trump from Turkey during the NATO summit after intelligence services detected a credible threat from Iran against the presidential aircraft, specifically directed at Air Force One.
EFE also quoted Trump’s response when asked if there was a credible threat against the aircraft: “I have a threat all the time. I am number one on their list.”
