Trump switched aircraft after intelligence warned of Iranian missile threat
U.S. and Turkish agencies alerted officials to a credible Iranian plot to target Air Force One, prompting a covert aircraft change for President Trump during a NATO summit in Ankara.
President Donald Trump was moved from Air Force One to a different aircraft on July 8 after U.S. and Turkish intelligence identified a credible Iranian plan to fire a surface-to-air missile at the presidential jet, CBS News reported. The decision was made while the NATO summit was underway in Ankara and involved the National Security Council, the White House Military Office and the Secret Service, according to two law-enforcement officials and a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Intelligence from the National Security Agency, the CIA and Turkey’s MIT service indicated that a team in Turkey had been tasked with launching the missile, though subsequent probes did not locate any such team. The president had arrived in Turkey on a newly retrofitted Boeing 747 donated by Qatar, while an older Air Force One aircraft remained on the ground as a support plane.
"The military and Secret Service wanted me to go in a different flight" – President Trump, speaking to CBS News.
Footage showed Trump boarding the older Air Force One before a catering truck moved away and a U.S. Air Force C-32A jet departed. Trump, along with aides Natalie Harp, Walt Nauta, Dan Scavino and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, flew on the C-32A to a U.K. military base, where he later transferred to the Qatari-donated aircraft for the return to Washington. The publicly identified Air Force One continued on the same route with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other officials; Rubio and Bessent were aware the plane did not carry the president.
The aircraft switch remained undisclosed until reports emerged earlier this week. Law-enforcement officials said the decoy was intended as a misdirection measure and was not meant to increase risk to any individuals.
"I have a lot of threats. Any consequential president has a lot of threats" – President Trump, in response to questions about the security decision.
The incident occurred as the U.S.–Iran conflict approaches its six-month anniversary, with officials noting an ongoing threat to the president from Iran.