Trump Secretly Swapped Planes in Turkey After Credible Iranian Missile Threat

President Donald Trump confirmed he secretly swapped planes as he left a Nato summit in Turkey last month due to a possible threat, telling reporters, "I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane."

“"I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane."”

BBC

The BBC said officials told its US partner CBS News that the US had detected a credible Iranian threat to fire a missile at the plane.

ABC

The BBC described footage showing Trump boarding Air Force One on 8 July in view of television cameras before hiding in a catering truck to be transported to a military aircraft, and it said Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A separately using external stairs.

The BBC also reported that Trump arrived in Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, but announced he would leave on the old Air Force One "for old time's sake".

In the same BBC account, Trump said the jet he boarded instead could have been at "greater risk... because that would be the plane, I think, that they would be more likely to go for."

The BBC reported that journalists and some White House staff on board Air Force One were unaware the president had been smuggled out as part of an elaborate ruse, and it said they were reportedly told to close their window shades.

A media pool producer described the window-shade instruction as unusual, and the BBC said a photographer briefly opened a shade and was quickly told to close it.

AlbertoNews

The BBC also said the C-32A used the call sign "Reach 18" while the aircraft carrying the journalists continued to use "AF1" in order to keep up the ruse.

CNN en Español reported that White House press secretary Steven Cheung said, "The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft equipped with high‑level security protocols that guarantee the safety of the president and his staff."

In the CNN en Español account, Trump later said, "you’re probably on a dangerous flight due to the unsavory people we have to deal with."

The BBC said the clandestine manoeuvre came a day after the US renewed military strikes on Iran following a breakdown of negotiations between Washington and Tehran to end the war.

“"I guess there was a threat out there," the president said during a visit aboard Air Force One to an event in Ohio on Tuesday.”

BBC

It also reported that Trump said on Tuesday, "I guess there was a threat out there," and that he added, "I get a lot of threats."

The BBC described how Trump then flew to the UK en route to the US, where he reboarded the old Air Force One and was seen descending from the aircraft after it landed at RAF Mildenhall.

In the BBC account, Trump said he had a "threat all the time" on his life and that he is "number one" on Iran's "list," while he did not mention the earlier plane swap during his remarks to reporters on the return flight.

CNN en Español framed the operation as a response to the Iran threat and said the plan involved Trump disembarking Air Force One in an airport catering vehicle and moving to the other aircraft as part of an elaborate ruse.