Iran knew the exact location of then-US President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in Ankara, including the floor of the building where he was staying, according to a report.
This information led to a serious security threat warning, resulting in an unusual operation in which Donald Trump secretly changed planes in Turkey last month. According to the New York Times, US intelligence received information about a possible missile attack by Iran on the plane carrying the president. The threat arose on July 8, the last day of the NATO summit, when Trump was preparing to leave Ankara. Two US officials familiar with the intelligence data told the newspaper that US agencies received multiple sources of information indicating a specific threat related to a surface-to-air missile targeting Air Force One. There was also alarming information that a person allegedly carrying a portable anti-aircraft missile system had been seen near the NATO summit venue.
US intelligence also believed that Iranian operatives knew exactly where Trump was staying in Ankara, including the floor of the building where he was accommodated. This information was considered credible enough to conduct an emergency deception operation to safely evacuate the president from Turkey.
Secret operation to change planes
Trump publicly announced that he would leave Turkey on the old Air Force One “for old times’ sake.” He indeed boarded the plane in front of the cameras, creating the impression that he was going to fly on it, but this was not the real plan. After the “decoy plane” with White House staff, security service employees, support staff, and journalists from the presidential pool took off, Trump was transported across the airport in a catering container. He was then transferred to a smaller military plane and flown out of Turkey.
As a result, journalists traveling with the president unknowingly became part of this operation. Some members of the press later expressed outrage that they had been used as bait and criticized the White House for not informing them about the security threat.
Role of the luxury plane from Qatar
Trump arrived on a luxury Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar, which was being prepared for future use as a presidential aircraft. However, according to the report, this plane was not equipped with the same missile defense systems as the old Air Force One. This likely played a role in the decision to use the old plane for the president’s departure from Turkey. This change also meant that Trump was separated from the people who usually travel with him, including high-ranking White House officials, security service employees, and journalists.
However, when Trump was asked about the operation on Tuesday after returning from an event in Ohio, he seemed to downplay the seriousness of the threat. He said that the Secret Service and the military wanted him to fly on a different plane and that he had little say in the matter. “They wanted me to fly on a different flight, a different plane,” Trump told journalists. “I think there was some kind of threat. I didn’t ask too much about it,” he added. “I get a lot of threats.”
Source: NDTV Hindi
