{"id":244520,"date":"2026-08-11T08:48:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T08:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/244520\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T08:48:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T08:48:31","slug":"amid-iran-threat-in-turkey-trump-was-secretly-spirited-off-air-force-one-in-catering-truck-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/244520\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid Iran threat in Turkey, Trump was secretly spirited off Air Force One in catering truck — report"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 US President Donald Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey last month when the White House said he was flying aboard Air Force One, an extraordinary move prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, the Washington Post reported<\/a> Monday.<\/p>\n

Trump had taken the newly renovated Qatari-donated jet to Ankara for the NATO summit.\u00a0<\/a>The trip to NATO was the first international travel for the new plane, whose speedy upgrades triggered questions over its cost and security, and took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, which borders Turkey.<\/p>\n

He unexpectedly used the older Air Force One craft when departing the country, a move that prompted questions about the newer plane\u2019s security. It was later reported he did this due to a real concern of an attempt by Iran to assassinate him.<\/p>\n

But the new report said the president didn\u2019t use the old 747 either.<\/p>\n

Before departing Ankara, Trump said on Truth Social that he would use an older baby blue Air Force One plane \u201cfor old time\u2019s sake\u201d \u2060to RAF Mildenhall in Britain while the new plane stopped at the same base so US service members stationed there could tour the \u200baircraft.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n

After Trump boarded the old Air Force One in front of cameras in Ankara, he was secretly shuttled by an airport catering truck to a smaller plane, an Air Force C-32A, the Post reported, citing a US official familiar with the operation and corroborating material it reviewed.<\/p>\n

The report did not specify the nature of the specific threat from Iran that led to the extra precautions and the secret plane swap. The New York Times and CBS News reported<\/a> last month that intelligence officials had raised concerns about a potential attack on the president or his jet, triggering additional precautions and the decision not to use the newly inaugurated aircraft gifted to Trump by Qatar for the first leg of his trip home from Ankara.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump switches planes at US Air Force Base, RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, on his way back to Washington from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

The deception operation was triggered by a credible threat to Trump, the Post reported. A similar operation had taken place in 2000, when then-president Bill Clinton used an unmarked executive jet to fly into Pakistan while sending his formal Air Force One as decoy.<\/p>\n

On this occasion, the journalists who thought they were traveling with Trump on the older Air Force One, which was effectively used as a decoy, reported being advised to keep their window shades closed in the press cabin.<\/p>\n

The Post said aside from reporters, some White House staff also believed that the president was on board.<\/p>\n

When asked later by reporters why they had to keep their shades shut during the flight, Trump said it was because they were \u201cprobably on a dangerous flight.\u201d He went onto say: \u201cBut if I go, you go. Right?\u201d<\/p>\n

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, the Post reported. It was not clear, the paper said, how Trump was moved from the C-32A back to the older Air Force One.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s traveling press pool reported he climbed down the stairs of the older Air Force One at 10:56 p.m. UK local time.<\/p>\n

He gave press a peace sign but didn\u2019t walk over to talk to them. He then spent some time greeting service members before walking to the new, Qatar-donated plane.<\/p>\n

When asked for comment on the revelation of a secret flight on a third plane, the White House provided a statement from Communications Director Steve Cheung saying the Qatari-donated jet has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,\u201d Cheung said. It was the same statement provided to the Post.<\/p>\n

The US Secret Service declined to comment. The Air Force, which maintains the fleet of executive travel aircraft, referred questions to the White House.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThe plane newly designated as \u2018Air Force One\u2019 takes off with US President Donald Trump on board. It is a formerly Qatari-owned jumbo jet that was converted into the official US presidential aircraft, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/ Luis M. Alvarez)<\/p>\n

The new plane, with red, white, dark blue and gold livery chosen by Trump, is a Boeing 747 gifted to the United States by Qatar last year and refitted by defense contractor L3Harris Technologies. It was intended to serve as a temporary placement while Boeing struggled to deliver long-delayed next-generation Air Force One planes.<\/p>\n

The Post report on clandestinely putting Trump on a third aircraft and quietly whisking him out of the country adds a fresh layer to just how seriously concerned US security officials were about the threat against Trump during the ongoing war with Iran.<\/p>\n

Paul Eckloff, a former special agent with the Secret Service, said such an unusual move could either reflect actionable intelligence or an abundance of caution given volatility in the region with the wars in Iran and Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would not say unprecedented, but it is an unusual occurrence,\u201d Eckloff told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal called for a congressional investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is unprecedented and it is surreal,\u201d he said Monday on CNN, calling the incident \u201cdownright scary.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tHelp us report truthfully on social media\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform \u2014 from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.<\/p>\n

This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tSupport our work\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tSupport our work\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tYou’re a dedicated reader\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re really pleased that you\u2019ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month. \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we started the Times of Israel – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.<\/p>\n

So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven\u2019t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.<\/p>\n

For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n

Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2014 US President Donald Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey last month when the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[27587,5781,38,34,7776,1176],"class_list":["post-244520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iran","tag-2026-us-israel-war-with-iran","tag-air-force-one","tag-donald-trump","tag-iran","tag-the-washington-post","tag-turkey"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117076014698162392","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}