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US President Donald Trump was secretly moved from Air Force One to a smaller military aircraft using an airport catering truck during his departure from Turkey last month, in an elaborate security operation prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, The Washington Post reported.
According to the report, Trump publicly boarded the older Air Force One in Ankara on July 8 after attending the NATO summit. However, minutes later, he and several aides were covertly transferred to a US Air Force C-32A aircraft parked elsewhere on the tarmac.
The unusual operation reportedly involved an airport catering truck being raised to the aircraft door on the side of Air Force One away from the cameras, allowing Trump to leave without being detected.
The older Air Force One then departed for the UK with members of the White House staff and journalists, effectively serving as a decoy while Trump traveled separately aboard the C-32A.
The Post reported that the maneuver concealed Trump’s actual location from the American public and some senior US officials for several hours. The C-32A was not visible in publicly available flight-tracking data, while the aircraft carrying the press corps landed in Britain under the Air Force One call sign.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly boarded the C-32A separately using its external stairs, in what sources described as part of an effort to make the aircraft’s use appear routine. The C-32A is commonly used to transport senior US officials and other VIPs.
The operation was reportedly triggered by concerns over a potential Iranian threat to Trump. The Post said it remained unclear what specific intelligence prompted the extraordinary security measures.
The White House had publicly indicated that Trump was traveling aboard Air Force One. Some White House staff members and journalists aboard the decoy aircraft were also reportedly unaware that the President had switched planes.
The C-32A arrived in Britain ahead of the decoy Air Force One. Trump was later seen disembarking from the older presidential aircraft, leaving questions over exactly how he was transferred back after the secret flight.
After meeting US service members on the tarmac, Trump boarded the newer aircraft donated by Qatar and continued his journey to Washington.
The revelation comes weeks after the operation and highlights the extent of security measures taken by the Trump administration to conceal the President’s movements amid concerns over potential threats from Iran.
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