U.S. President Donald Trump secretly left Turkey aboard a different military aircraft following reports of an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate him.
The Washington Post reported that threats to assassinate Trump prompted an extraordinary security operation to be put in place last month as he prepared to leave Turkey after attending a NATO summit.
While the White House announced that Trump was aboard Air Force One, the aircraft normally used by the U.S. president, subsequent reports revealed that he had actually been secretly transported on another military aircraft.
The Washington Post said Trump’s departure was carefully arranged to conceal which aircraft he was traveling on and how he would leave Turkey. The measures were intended to reduce the risk of potential attackers discovering his location and the aircraft he was using.
The newspaper reported that the extraordinary security measures were prompted by intelligence indicating that Iran might have been planning to assassinate Trump.
This meant that information publicly released by the White House did not correspond with the actual arrangements for the president’s departure.
The White House had said Trump left the NATO summit aboard Air Force One, but reliable reports indicated that he had secretly used a different military aircraft.
The arrangements were primarily designed to conceal Trump’s whereabouts and protect him from a potential threat to his life as he departed Turkey and returned to the United States.
Information that Trump had secretly used a different aircraft emerged later, while the White House had continued to maintain that the president was aboard Air Force One.
