US President Donald Trump was secretly transferred from an older Air Force One aircraft to a smaller military jet using an airport catering truck during his departure from Turkey last month, according to a new report by The Washington Post. The extraordinary security operation was reportedly carried out after US officials determined that Trump faced a credible threat linked to Iran or Iranian proxy forces. The deception was designed to make it appear that the president remained aboard the larger aircraft while he actually left Turkey on a separate plane.

Trump had travelled to Ankara for the NATO summit aboard the new Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar and being prepared for presidential use. However, security concerns had already prompted officials to change his travel arrangements for the journey out of Turkey. Instead of returning on the Qatari-gifted aircraft, Trump publicly boarded an older Boeing 747 that had long served as Air Force One. At the time, the aircraft switch was reported as a precaution after concerns emerged over a potential Iranian threat to the president or his aircraft.

The new report indicates that the operation went further than the initial aircraft swap. After Trump boarded the older Boeing 747 in view of cameras, he was reportedly moved out of the aircraft through a separate exit and transported across the airport in a catering truck typically used to load food and other supplies onto planes. The vehicle then took him to a smaller C-32A aircraft, on which he secretly departed for Britain. The details were attributed by the Post to an anonymous US official, making the reported transfer distinct from the earlier publicly confirmed decision to use the older Air Force One.

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The older Boeing 747 was effectively used as a decoy, according to the report. Journalists travelling on the aircraft believed Trump was aboard, while some White House staff were also reportedly unaware that the president had been moved to another plane. Reporters on the older aircraft were instructed to keep their window blinds closed during the departure from Ankara. The arrangement allowed the aircraft carrying the media and other personnel to leave Turkey while obscuring Trump’s actual location. The C-32A, a smaller military aircraft, subsequently carried the president towards Britain.

The security measures came against a backdrop of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran. Earlier reports had said US officials considered the threat against Trump credible after intelligence indicated that Iranian proxy forces could target the president or Air Force One. Trump had also acknowledged that he regularly faced threats and said Iran considered him a major assassination target. The initial decision to avoid the newer Qatari-gifted aircraft had raised questions because the plane, while extensively modified, does not have all the defensive systems associated with the older presidential aircraft.

The reported operation underscores the extraordinary security precautions surrounding presidential travel amid the escalating US-Iran confrontation. Trump’s movements were concealed even from some people travelling with him, while the older Air Force One served as a visible decoy. The episode also adds to scrutiny surrounding the security capabilities of the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747-8, which Trump had used to travel to Turkey before switching aircraft for the departure. Although the White House has defended the safety of the newer plane, the reported covert transfer illustrates how intelligence assessments can lead security officials to employ multiple layers of deception when protecting a president from a potential attack.

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