Iranian proxy forces threaten the safety of “Air Force One”; Trump temporarily replaces his plane during the NATO summit

Odaily Planet Daily News, citing The New York Times, reports that multiple insiders said that during U.S. President Trump’s attendance at the NATO summit this month, after the U.S. side discovered that Iranian proxy forces might carry out an attack on Trump and his presidential aircraft, the Secret Service advised him to change planes when leaving Turkey. The report says that when Trump arrived in Ankara, Turkey, he was aboard a new Boeing 747-8 aircraft donated by Qatar, but the aircraft had not yet been fitted with advanced defensive systems at the same level as those of the traditional “Air Force One.” After the U.S. government identified the relevant threat, the U.S. Secret Service advised Trump to depart using the older version of Air Force One. Insiders said the target of the threat was not specifically the Qatar-donated aircraft, but Trump himself and any aircraft he might be traveling on.

Previously, Trump said the plane change was to allow U.S. military personnel stationed in the UK to tour the new aircraft, and he denied that it was related to security factors. However, The New York Times reported that the decision to change aircraft was actually related to a security assessment. The report said that the Qatar-donated Boeing 747-8 is still planned to undergo upgrades and retrofits in the future to enhance the security capabilities required for the presidential aircraft. The White House said the aircraft is “fully capable of ensuring the president’s travel safety,” and it will undergo about one additional month of upgrades this fall. The incident occurred amid continued escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The report said U.S. officials had previously received intelligence regarding possible Iranian plans to carry out actions targeting Trump, and the U.S. side remained highly alert to the threat level to the president’s security.