Israel alerted US on Iranian plot to shoot down Air Force One – report

Israeli intelligence on Iranian missile plot against Air Force One reportedly prompted President Trump’s secret plane switch in Turkey.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli intelligence warning that Iran could try to shoot down President Donald Trump’s aircraft with shoulder-fired missiles prompted an extraordinary operation to secretly move the president onto a different plane as he left Turkey last month, according to multiple news reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Israel briefed the Trump administration on intelligence pointing to a threat against Trump and his presidential aircraft, including the possible use of shoulder-to-air missiles.

A US official told the newspaper that the warning led authorities to employ a decoy operation during Trump’s July 8 departure from Ankara following a NATO summit.

Trump publicly boarded the older Boeing 747 normally used as Air Force One while reporters watched.

Once out of view, however, he was secretly removed from the aircraft using an airport catering truck and driven to a smaller US military C-32A — a military version of the Boeing 757 — parked elsewhere at the airport.

He then flew aboard that aircraft to RAF Mildenhall in Britain.

The maneuver was apparently intended to leave anyone tracking the president’s movements believing he remained aboard the more conspicuous presidential 747.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior aides remained aboard the older Air Force One aircraft, according to the Journal.

NBC News separately reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accompanied Trump on the secret flight, while Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other officials remained behind.

Journalists traveling with the president were also unaware that Trump was no longer on their aircraft.

No missile was ultimately fired at any of the aircraft, according to the US official cited by the Journal. The official said it was the first time during Trump’s presidency that such a decoy operation had been carried out.

Trump on Tuesday confirmed that he had been secretly transferred between planes, saying the decision had been made by his security detail.

“They wanted me to go on a different flight, different plane,” Trump told reporters. “I just have to do what they say.”

Trump said he did not seek extensive details about the intelligence behind the decision.

“I have a lot of threats that you don’t know about,” he said, adding: “Any consequential presidents have a lot of threats. Non-consequential presidents don’t get threatened. And I think that I may be the most consequential president.”

He also suggested that the smaller aircraft used to conceal his movements may ultimately have been less secure than the presidential plane.

“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” Trump said, arguing that an attacker who discovered the switch might have been more likely to target it.

He said he had simply followed the recommendations of the Secret Service and military.

The operation came amid concerns surrounding Trump’s use of the newly converted Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, which had only recently entered presidential service.

Trump flew the new aircraft to Ankara but unexpectedly announced before leaving Turkey that he would instead depart aboard the older presidential plane.

Earlier reporting indicated that concerns about the new jet’s defensive capabilities, alongside the intelligence regarding an Iranian threat, influenced that decision.

The White House had not disclosed the covert flight and publicly indicated at the time that Trump had traveled from Turkey to Britain aboard Air Force One.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung declined to discuss the operational details but defended the security precautions taken around Trump.

“As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” Cheung said.

Iran has repeatedly threatened retaliation against Trump over the January 2020 US drone strike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.

The newly disclosed Israeli intelligence suggests those longstanding threats were treated as sufficiently credible and immediate in Ankara to prompt one of the most elaborate efforts yet undertaken to conceal Trump’s movements.