WASHINGTON — President Trump’s decision to sneak off Air Force One aboard a catering truck and use a military plane to fly out of Turkey last month was motivated by fears that Iranian operatives could use a shoulder-launched rocket to blow the presidential jet out of the sky.
An unidentified person was seen with a shoulder-fired missile near the annual conference of NATO heads of state in Ankara and US intelligence learned Iran had tracked down information about which hotel floor Trump was staying on, the New York Times reported.
Other news outlets, including CNN, confirmed that the threat of a shoulder-fired missile prompted the secret switch.
The details of Iran’s threat to Trump’s life was described by officials after the president confirmed the stealthy mission to reporters Tuesday evening.
“I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, a different plane for safety. They wanted me to do it, so I did it. I did what they said,” Trump told reporters.
The Washington Post revealed Monday evening that Trump had used a smaller military plane to leave Turkey July 8 after he was photographed boarding Air Force One — with reporters and many senior aides aboard the jet unaware of the hastily devised change.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung remained aboard Air Force One, which served as a decoy — while Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino joined Trump aboard the smaller jet.
US fighter jets were in the air to protect both planes.
Earlier that day, Trump announced that he had sent the newer, Qatar-donated version of Air Force One out of Ankara ahead of his departure to allow US soldiers based in the United Kingdom to tour the aircraft.
That decision was initially believed to be motivated by the older model of Air Force One having more advanced anti-missile technologies — after Trump spent the day mentioning Tehran’s interest in knocking him off while large banners appeared across the Islamic Republic calling for his death.
There’s some precedent for Trump’s sly use of a different aircraft. In 2000, then-President Bill Clinton stealthily arrived in Pakistan aboard a different jet, though some reporters had been informed and the ploy was revealed upon his arrival.
The White House did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on the specific threat in Ankara.
