President Donald Trump secretly switched aircraft in Turkey last month to avoid an Iranian assassination threat, according to multiple U.S. media reports published Tuesday.
Trump publicly stated he would depart the NATO summit in Ankara on July 8 aboard an older version of Air Force One, a modified Boeing 747. However, he was instead placed in a catering container that transported him to a smaller C-32A military aircraft, which then flew him to the United Kingdom, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and CNN reported, citing unnamed sources.
The White House initially said Trump was on Air Force One when he left Turkey. The decoy aircraft, carrying reporters and White House staffers who believed Trump was aboard, completed the flight as planned. Reporters remained on the older Air Force One throughout the journey, unaware of the switch.
Once in Britain, Trump transferred to a Boeing aircraft that had been gifted to him by Saudi Arabia before continuing to the United States.
The operation was an unusual departure from standard presidential travel protocol. Presidents are typically accompanied by reporters on official flights, and such security measures involving decoy aircraft are rare for presidential movements.
The switch occurred following the NATO summit in Ankara and was undertaken as a precaution in response to threats from Iran, according to the reports.