To Evade Iranian Threats: Trump's 'Top-Secret Operation'—Pretending to Board Air Force One, Escaped via Truck

Washington Post Reveals Last Month's Secret Trump Transport Operation
Air Force One Used as a Decoy

On the 8th of last month (local time), at Ankara International Airport runway in Turkey, the presidential aircraft 'Air Force One', which U.S. President Donald Trump was to board, and a catering truck carrying in-flight meals were parked. Photo by AP Yonhap News

It has been revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump carried out a “top secret operation” to evade Iranian assassination threats on his way home from Turkey last month. While the presidential aircraft “Air Force One” was used as a decoy, Trump himself transferred to another military plane via a catering truck.

The Washington Post (WP) reported in detail on August 10 (local time), citing U.S. government officials and related documents, about President Trump's return trip. President Trump had returned home after attending the NATO summit held in Ankara, Turkey on July 8 last month. The day before the summit, the United States had resumed military attacks against Iran. At that time, U.S. intelligence authorities reportedly detected signs of an Iranian assassination plot targeting either President Trump or the presidential aircraft.

On July 8th last month (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump arrived at RAF Mildenhall, a U.S. Air Force base located in Eastern Suffolk, UK, on his way back to Washington after the NATO summit held in Ankara, Turkey. Photo by AP Yonhap News Agency

President Trump originally arrived in Turkey aboard a new Boeing 747-8 Air Force One provided by Qatar to the United States. During his departure, footage aired of him boarding Air Force One and waving, but after that, he and several close aides moved to the opposite side of the plane.

There, the cargo bed of a catering truck, which carried in-flight meals and supplies, was elevated to the height of the aircraft door and waited in place. President Trump concealed himself in the cargo bed, exited the plane, and transferred to a U.S. Air Force C-32A aircraft that was waiting nearby. The C-32A is also an aircraft used for transporting senior U.S. government officials.

According to WP, White House correspondents and some staff remained onboard the original Air Force One after Trump left. Many of them reportedly believed that the president was on the same flight with them.

Both planes then headed to the United Kingdom. Notably, the original Air Force One—without the president onboard—used the call sign “AF1,” which is reserved only for the aircraft carrying the president. Meanwhile, the C-32A actually carrying President Trump did not appear on common flight-tracking sites. In other words, Air Force One was used as a decoy to conceal President Trump’s actual location.

WP noted that while there have been cases in the past of the U.S. president using a different aircraft or deploying Air Force One as a decoy when visiting dangerous regions, it is rare to operate a plane as if the president were aboard when he was not and for the White House to issue statements inconsistent with the president’s actual movements as part of a deception operation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.