‘I go by Secret Service, military’: Trump confirms switching planes in Turkey over Iran threat
US president Donald Trump has acknowledged that he was moved to a different aircraft while leaving Ankara last month, saying he followed instructions from the Secret Service and military after being told the plane he had initially boarded would face a “greater risk”.“I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane… I do what they say… I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats,” the US president said.“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk! I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane, I think that they would be more likely to go for it,” Trump added.His comments came after a Washington Post report revealed that Trump was secretly transferred from Air Force One to a smaller military aircraft in an airport catering truck amid an alleged Iranian assassination threat.Trump had initially boarded the older, baby-blue Air Force One in full view of cameras after attending the NATO summit in Turkey.But once aboard, he was secretly transferred in an airport catering truck to an Air Force C-32A, which flew him to Britain, The Washington Post reported, citing a US official familiar with the operation and corroborating material reviewed by the newspaper.Israel had reportedly alerted the United States to the threat that prompted the Secret Service to move Trump off Air Force One and transfer him to a military aircraft as he prepared to leave Turkey, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed US official.According to the report, Israeli intelligence indicated that Iran was planning to target Trump’s aircraft with shoulder-fired missiles. Despite the threat, several senior Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, remained aboard Air Force One, the official said.The extraordinary security operation unfolded as hostilities with Iran were escalating. Iran shares a border with Turkey, where Trump had travelled for the NATO summit and made his first international trip aboard a newly renovated aircraft donated by Qatar.The deception operation was triggered by what The Washington Post described as a credible threat to Trump. A similar tactic was used in 2000, when then-President Bill Clinton flew into Pakistan aboard an unmarked executive jet while the official Air Force One aircraft served as a decoy.In this case, journalists who believed they were travelling with Trump aboard the older Air Force One were instructed to keep the window shades in the press cabin closed. Some White House staff members also reportedly believed the president was on board.The C-32A carrying Trump arrived in Britain at around 10:20 pm (local time), with the older Air Force One and the media contingent arriving minutes later, The Post reported. It was not immediately clear how Trump was transferred back to the older Air Force One.
