New information was revealed about one of the most strange protection operations for US President Donald Trump, after US intelligence detected a specific Iranian threat to shoot down the presidential plane, Air Force 1, as he was leaving Ankara following the NATO summit on July 8. This prompted the Secret Service and the US Army to carry out a complex disinformation operation during which Trump was secretly transferred to another plane, while the presidential plane took off with senior officials, journalists, and military personnel on board, without some of them being aware of the danger.
According to a report by journalist Eli Leon on the Israeli “Maariv” website, based on what was reported by the “New York Times”, American intelligence detected a specific Iranian threat targeting the downing of the “Air Force 1” plane while Trump was preparing to leave the Turkish capital, Ankara, after the NATO summit on July 8.
According to American officials, information was received about a threat to use a surface-to-air missile, coinciding with the monitoring of a person near the summit area carrying a shoulder-fired missile.
According to the same data, the Iranians also knew the exact location where Trump was staying in the Turkish capital, including the floor inside the building.
Following the threat assessment, the Secret Service and the US Army launched an extraordinary disinformation operation. Trump appeared in front of the cameras as he boarded the old presidential plane, before he was later removed from it secretly through a container inside a catering vehicle attached to a door located on the other side of the plane.
After that, the US President was transferred to a smaller C-32A military plane, which took off towards Britain using a regular air call.
However, the most exciting aspect of the operation, according to the report, was that the direct threat did not prevent sending the presidential plane into the air as was planned, with senior officials in the US administration, government employees, journalists and military personnel on board.
Thus, the plane practically turned into an aerial decoy, while some of its passengers were completely unaware of the extent of the danger.
The report notes that if the Iranians had indeed tried to intercept the president’s plane the previous month, as US officials concluded at the time, the secret operation carried out in Ankara to protect Trump made dozens of other people moving targets.
Among those who remained on the plane and unknowingly faced danger were prominent officials in the US administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, and prominent advisors Stephen Miller and Stephen Chung.
This is not the first time that the US administration has used camouflage operations to protect US presidents from potential threats, especially while traveling to areas classified as high-risk.
Similar methods were previously used when former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama traveled to Iraq during the height of the war, as well as when former President Bill Clinton made a lightning visit to Pakistan in light of the country’s history with security operations.
However, the operation carried out by Trump’s team in Ankara stands out, according to the report, because of its unusual nature, not only as a result of the misleading method used, but also because of the way in which the clear danger was conveyed to other people, in addition to keeping the incident secret for a long period after Trump himself was out of danger.
“It seemed like they didn’t care about anyone except the president and the small group that was accompanying him,” said Joe Lockhart, who served as White House spokesman under President Bill Clinton and was involved in arranging his visit to Islamabad in 2000.
He added: “We made a great effort to ensure that the largest possible number of people, especially civilians, were protected and not used as human shields. They did not even think about that. For me, this is the big difference.”
On the other hand, former officials who participated in organizing dangerous trips to the White House believed that extreme measures may sometimes be required in order to protect the president.
Joseph Hagin, a senior adviser to President George Bush who helped organize his trips to war zones and later served as deputy White House chief of staff during Trump’s first term, said he did not criticize the decision taken in Ankara.
“I understand the concern about the passengers on the plane that was thought to be the main target, but when you work in the White House or travel with the president, you accept quite a level of risk. Exposing the operation would have put the president in real danger,” Hagin explained.
The report indicated that officials and journalists who traveled with former presidents to war zones naturally knew what kind of risks they were heading into.
As for the people who remained on board Air Force 1 in Ankara on July 8, they were not informed of an escalating threat.
The journalists who were sitting in the back of the plane were instructed, before take-off, to keep the window blinds closed during the flight to Britain.
Meanwhile, Trump arrived in Britain secretly via the other military plane, before he was transferred again to “Air Force 1” so that he could disembark in front of the cameras as if he had been on board the entire flight.
Andrew Marlowe, screenwriter of the famous 1997 action film “Air Force 1,” touched on the incident, saying that such a scenario would never have occurred to him to write.
“Reality is not a movie,” Marlowe said, “but under the circumstances, it is difficult to imagine an audience rooting for a main character to protect her personal security while treating the civilians who remained on the plane as if they were potential sheep for sacrifice, especially without their informed consent.”
For his part, Trump rejected these criticisms.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening, he said that he acted on the advice of the Secret Service, adding: “I believe that the plane that I actually traveled on was more vulnerable, because it was likely that it was the plane that they were going to target.”
The report indicated that this claim directly contradicts the logic on which the decision to switch aircraft was originally based.
The disinformation operation also highlights the atmosphere of threat surrounding Trump, especially after he survived an assassination attempt during an election rally in Pennsylvania in 2024, and another accident at his golf course in Florida in the same year.
According to what was reported by the New York Times, officials in the Joe Biden administration had previously confirmed that Iranian parties had attempted to assassinate Trump.
Although the use of diversionary means is a well-known tactic for the Secret Service to protect the president, such as when using identical car convoys, this type of operation does not usually involve civilians who do not know that they are part of the plan.
Former President Bill Clinton had previously categorically rejected using the media as bait during his trip to Pakistan, and insisted on adopting an alternative plan.
John Kirby, a former senior White House and Pentagon spokesman, concluded: “They have a duty to care about the safety of people who travel with the president. When the risk is known, they should at least give the outlines of it so people can make informed decisions.”
Thus, an operation designed to protect Trump from a potential missile threat turned into a case that raises questions within the United States about the line between securing the president and exposing dozens of his entourage to a danger they did not even know existed.
