Israel had warned US officials that there was a possible threat of Iranian missiles toward Air Force One, prompting the Secret Service to secretly move Trump to a smaller military jet as he flew out of last month’s NATO summit in Turkey, America’s National Public Radio (NPR) reported.
US President Donald Trump secretly switched planes while leaving Turkey last month after Israel warned American intelligence of an alleged Iranian threat, according to US media reports.
Some US intelligence officials pointed out that Tel Aviv’s ‘kill plot’ warning was designed less to inform the US about the threat and more to influence Trump’s decision-making and US policy in the region.
The news about the use of a decoy plane was first reported by The Washington Post. When asked about the development on Tuesday, Trump said he was following instructions from the Secret Service. The warning about Iran’s possible kill plot was reportedly relayed to America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by the Israeli government. Another official also noted the reports of threats against Trump’s life were single-sourced and uncorroborated. The official, however, noted that security precautions for the president — especially one who has been the target of several assassination attempts — are more robust than those for even top members of the Cabinet. Under the US Constitution, the secretaries of State and Treasury follow the vice president and the highest-ranking member of each chamber of Congress in the presidential line of succession. “The Secret Service has had three near misses with this president, so they’re not taking any chances.
However, a US official told The Post that CIA analysts did not view the intelligence as compelling and conveyed that scepticism to Trump administration officials. They were “Israeli-derived, not US-generated, and viewed as low confidence,” they said. They did what they had to do,” an official said. The president at the time said the new luxury jet was being flown out ahead of his departure from Ankara to give some U.S. troops based in eastern England a chance to check out the new Air Force One. US intelligence had picked up information about a possible Iranian missile attack on the aircraft carrying him, according to a New York Times report. Earlier reporting noted: Trump had publicly announced that he would leave Turkey aboard the older Air Force One “for old time’s sake”.
Earlier reporting noted: The unusual operation that saw US President Donald Trump secretly switch planes in Turkey last month was prompted by a serious security warning. Earlier reporting noted: The information was considered credible enough to trigger an extraordinary deception operation to get the president out of Turkey.
