U.S. President Donald Trump secretly traveled aboard a military aircraft after leaving Turkey last month, following what U.S. officials described as a credible Iranian assassination threat, according to a report by The Washington Post cited by Reuters. Trump had publicly boarded an older Air Force One in Ankara, but was reportedly transferred discreetly via an airport catering truck to a smaller Air Force C-32A, which flew him to Britain while the older presidential aircraft served as a decoy.
The operation came during Trump’s trip to the NATO summit in Ankara, amid heightened tensions with Iran. Reporters traveling aboard the decoy Air Force One were instructed to keep their window shades closed, with some White House personnel reportedly unaware that Trump was not on board. The C-32A carrying Trump arrived in Britain shortly before the older Air Force One, although details of how Trump later returned to the presidential aircraft remained unclear.
The incident also raised questions about the security of a newly renovated Boeing 747 donated by Qatar, which Trump had used for his first international trip before switching to the older Air Force One. The White House said the Qatar-donated aircraft had been equipped with high-level security measures and emphasized that authorities use every available tool to protect the president from threats.
