US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: The dramatic flight out of Turkey that secretly moved US President Donald Trump onto another military aircraft was driven by a threat that some American intelligence officials reportedly viewed with scepticism. The warning came from Israel and alleged that Iran could target Trump as he prepared to leave Ankara after the NATO summit on July 8.
Despite doubts over the intelligence, the US Secret Service chose to act on the possibility of an attack and carried out an unusual deception operation to protect the president.
Trump initially appeared to leave Ankara aboard the older Air Force One, but security officials secretly transferred him to a smaller C-32A military aircraft. The president reached the second plane through an airport catering truck, while other senior officials and journalists remained on the original aircraft. The operation stayed undisclosed until reports emerged weeks later.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: CIA Had Doubts Over Israel’s Iran Threat Warning
The latest details have added a new layer to the extraordinary security operation. According to reporting cited from The Washington Post, Israeli intelligence passed the warning to the CIA, but some US intelligence officials did not consider the information strong enough to confirm an imminent assassination attempt.
Officials described the intelligence as “Israeli-derived, not US-generated, and viewed as low confidence.”
That assessment did not stop the Secret Service from changing Trump’s travel arrangements. The agency appears to have taken a precautionary approach, particularly because Trump has already faced multiple assassination threats during his political career.
The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that intelligence shared by Israel helped trigger the security response, while later reporting added details about the covert aircraft switch.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: Trump Secretly Moved From Air Force One to Military Jet
The operation unfolded after Trump’s NATO summit visit to Ankara. The president publicly boarded the older Air Force One, creating the impression that he would leave Turkey on that aircraft.
Instead, security personnel moved him through an airport catering truck to a smaller Air Force C-32A. The aircraft then flew Trump and a limited group of aides toward Britain, while the larger Air Force One continued separately.
The operation also served as a deception strategy because anyone monitoring the airport would have been more likely to track the presidential aircraft.
Reuters reported that the threat involved concerns over a possible missile attack and that the Secret Service considered the potential danger serious enough to justify the unusual move.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: Trump Confirms He Took A Different Plane
Trump later confirmed that he had travelled on a different aircraft but said the decision came from the Secret Service.
“It’s really just up to Secret Service. I just follow what they like to do,” Trump told reporters. “They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety. … I do what they say.”
His comments came after the secret operation became public.
Trump has also previously spoken about threats from Iran. During his departure from Turkey in July, he said he was “No. 1 on the kill list for Iran,” according to ABC News reporting.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: Why Did The Secret Service Take The Threat Seriously?
The key issue was not whether US intelligence had confirmed an assassination plan. Instead, officials had to decide whether the potential consequences of dismissing the warning were too serious to ignore.
A US official told The Washington Post, “The Secret Service has had three near misses with this president, so they’re not taking any chances. They did what they had to do.”
Trump has survived three known assassination attempts or plots since the beginning of his 2024 presidential campaign, although publicly available information does not link the suspects in those cases to Iran.
The Secret Service therefore appears to have treated the Israeli warning as a precautionary security issue even while questions remained over its credibility.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: Did Israel’s Intelligence Aim To Influence Trump?
The intelligence has also raised questions about whether Israel’s warning was intended solely to protect Trump or could have had a wider policy objective.
Some US officials reportedly believed that Israeli intelligence sharing could influence Trump’s thinking about Iran and Turkey.
The US official familiar with the matter told The Post that the intelligence:
“fit a broader pattern of Israeli intelligence reporting that some officials see as designed as much to shape presidential decision-making as to inform it.”
That claim remains an assessment by officials familiar with the intelligence rather than an established finding that Israel deliberately manipulated the US president.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: Chris Van Hollen Questions Credibility Of Threat
The unusual operation has also attracted scrutiny from members of Congress.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen questioned whether the intelligence supplied by Israel had been independently verified. He acknowledged that Iran could have reasons to target Trump but said the specific warning raised questions.
“I am very curious about the extent to which the Israeli-provided intelligence was not only credible but independently verifiable. I do not doubt that Iran would like to see the president gone, but this all seems a little fantastical.”
His comments reflect the central question surrounding the incident: how much confidence did US officials actually have in the intelligence that triggered such an extraordinary presidential security operation?
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: What Happened To Air Force One?
The original Air Force One remained part of the deception plan. Trump had appeared to board the aircraft publicly, but he secretly left before departure.
The aircraft then travelled with other senior officials and members of the press, while Trump used the smaller military aircraft.
The New York Times previously reported that concerns about the security capabilities of the newer Qatar-provided presidential aircraft also played a role in the decision to alter Trump’s travel arrangements.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: Trump Turkey Flight Mystery Raises Bigger Security Questions
The Ankara episode highlights the difficult decisions US security agencies face when dealing with threats against a president. Even intelligence assessed as uncertain can trigger major protective measures when the potential consequences involve the president’s life.
The operation also shows how presidential travel can quickly become a security deception exercise, with aircraft movements, public appearances and passenger information carefully controlled to prevent potential attackers from knowing Trump’s actual location.
While the full intelligence behind the warning remains classified, the newly reported details have shifted attention from the dramatic plane switch to a bigger question: why did the Secret Service act on a threat that parts of the US intelligence community considered low confidence?
