New and disturbing details emerged Wednesday about an Iranian threat against President Donald Trump during his visit to Turkey. U.S. intelligence detected that the Iranians had detailed information on the president’s location in Ankara, while simultaneously receiving reports of a man armed with a shoulder-fired missile spotted near the NATO summit Trump attended, the New York Times reported.
Following what was defined as a credible threat to his life, officials decided to extract Trump from Turkey secretly, creating the appearance that he was returning to the United States aboard Air Force One. In reality, the president was secretly transferred via an airport catering vehicle to a smaller military plane, a C-32A, which took off from Turkey with Trump’s location kept secret. Meanwhile, Air Force One took off carrying journalists, White House staff, and aides—some of whom had no idea the president wasn’t with them. The plane effectively served as part of a deception operation designed to make it harder for anyone who might try to harm Trump or the aircraft he was on.
According to the report, the concern wasn’t focused on just a general threat. Intelligence that reached the Americans indicated that Iranian elements held detailed information about Trump’s location in Ankara, while simultaneously a man armed with a shoulder-fired missile was spotted in the summit area. The combination of the two is what heightened fears of an attempt to harm the president or his plane.