Trump Secretly Fled Turkey Amid Iranian Threat
Washington Post reveals the US president was transferred from Air Force One to a smaller military aircraft last month, while the White House claimed he was on the presidential plane.
Washington Post reveals the US president was transferred from Air Force One to a smaller military aircraft last month, while the White House claimed he was on the presidential plane.
Due to an Iranian assassination threat, US President Donald Trump took part in an extraordinary secret evacuation operation from Turkey last month. While the White House publicly claimed he was aboard the presidential aircraft Air Force One, Trump was secretly transferred to a smaller military plane and flown to Britain, the Washington Post reported on August 10, 2026. The details of the operation were also confirmed by the New York Times, describing it as a "deception operation" prompted by a credible threat linked to Iran.
According to the report, the operation was triggered by an Iranian threat, and the Wall Street Journal specifies that Israeli intelligence warned of a possible Iranian plot to assassinate the US president. US officials then assessed the intelligence and decided to act. The assessment was that both Trump and Air Force One itself were targets, and the Secret Service recommended changing aircraft when leaving Turkey.
Trump arrived in Ankara for the NATO summit on a new presidential aircraft, donated by Qatar and recently renovated. It was the first international flight of that plane, taking place amid escalating hostilities with Iran, a country bordering Turkey. The operation occurred the night after Trump ordered renewed military strikes on Iran, following the collapse of negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
When leaving Turkey, Trump boarded an older model of Air Force One in front of cameras in Ankara. However, afterward, according to information from the Washington Post confirmed by a US official familiar with the operation, he was secretly transferred via a catering truck to a smaller military aircraft, a C-32A. While journalists were boarding the rear of Air Force One, the truck with its cargo area raised to the level of the aircraft lowered its platform and drove to a nearby C-32A, where it was raised again and remained in that position for several minutes.
The C-32A landed in Britain at around 10:20 PM local time, while the older Air Force One with the media arrived a few minutes later. Trump then posted on his Truth Social platform that he would use the older blue Air Force One "for old times' sake" for the flight from Ankara to RAF Mildenhall in Britain, while the new aircraft, according to him, landed at the same base so that US troops could inspect it. Journalists on the older aircraft were told to keep the window shades down in the press cabin, which further fueled suspicions about security reasons. Besides journalists, some White House staff also believed the president was on that aircraft, unknowingly becoming decoys in the deception operation.
When the media sought comment on the revelation of the secret flight on a third aircraft, the White House provided a statement from communications director Steve Cheung. "As the president recently said, there are many enemies of America who have him in their crosshairs, and we use every tool at our disposal to respond to those threats," Cheung said. He also emphasized that the new Air Force One is a "state-of-the-art aircraft equipped with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff." After landing in Britain, Trump emerged from the older Air Force One in front of journalists, although it remains unclear how he was transferred from the C-32A back to that aircraft. He then flew to Washington on the new aircraft, a donation from Qatar. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The revelation of this secret operation sheds new light on the seriousness of the security threats facing the US president, especially in the context of rising tensions with Iran. As a member of the NATO alliance, Croatia closely monitors all security challenges that affect the stability of allied relations and global security.
