The Wall Street Journal reports that Israel provided the Trump administration with intelligence about an Iranian plan to target Air Force One with shoulder-fired missiles, prompting an extraordinary diversionary operation in which President Trump was secretly transferred from the aircraft via a catering truck to a U.S. military plane while departing the NATO summit in Ankara last month.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday evening that Israel provided the US with intelligence about an Iranian plot to target Air Force One with shoulder-fired missiles during President Trump's departure from the NATO summit in Ankara last month. According to the report, the intelligence was considered so urgent that it prompted the extraordinary security operation in which Trump was secretly moved from Air Force One into a military C-32A aircraft via a catering truck while the older 747 flew on as a decoy with journalists and staff aboard.
The Washington Post first revealed the operation on Tuesday morning, detailing how Trump boarded the older Air Force One for the cameras, then exited via a catering truck and was transferred to the smaller military plane. A separate report by the New York Times indicated pro-Iranian elements had planned to harm Trump personally, with the threat discovered during the summit. The White House later confirmed that a credible Iranian missile threat forced the plane switch.
The operation occurred against the backdrop of renewed US airstrikes on Iran following the downing of an American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a new 747-8 provided as a gift by Qatar, but concerns about that aircraft's defensive capabilities—and a specific threat to the older plane—led to the unprecedented deception.
As The Zioneer reported in earlier bulletins, Israeli intelligence was shared during the Turkey visit itself, and several senior advisors were warned. The WSJ report now specifies that the threat involved shoulder-fired missiles, a weapon type capable of targeting aircraft during takeoff or landing.
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