Trump Was Secretly Flown Out of Turkey After the NATO Summit — The Washington Post
Following the NATO summit in Turkey, U.S. President Donald Trump was reportedly secretly flown out of the country as part of a special operation, according to The Washington Post. According to the publication, instead of his usual departure, Trump was placed in a van used for transporting food, after which he was transferred to another military aircraft.
Trump initially appeared before television cameras next to an old Boeing 747 that had previously served as Air Force One. However, shortly thereafter, he was transferred to another aircraft—a U.S. Air Force C-32A.
Thus, the old Air Force One effectively served as a decoy for journalists and some administration staff.
According to sources cited by The Washington Post, the decision to carry out this operation was linked to concerns about a possible Iranian attack on the president or his aircraft.
Earlier, U.S. media reported that intelligence agencies had received information about a specific threat of an attack on Trump or his aircraft.
The situation escalated after the U.S. resumed military strikes against Iran following the breakdown of negotiations between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending the months-long conflict.
Turkey, where the NATO summit was held, is of strategic importance to the U.S. and borders Iran, which further influenced the risk assessment.
According to the publication, Trump was initially boarded onto an old blue-and-white Boeing 747 in Turkey, a plane that had been used by U.S. presidents for many years.
A few minutes later, he was discreetly transferred to a smaller C-32A military aircraft. To do this, according to the newspaper’s sources, they used a truck from the airport’s catering service, which is typically used to deliver food and supplies before a flight.
An American official familiar with the operation stated that the old Air Force One was used in this way as a “decoy.”
The publication notes that U.S. presidents have previously employed measures to conceal their itineraries due to security threats.
For example, in 2000, during Bill Clinton’s visit to Pakistan, the president left one plane behind while the main Air Force One was used to mislead observers.
Former Acting Director of the U.S. Secret Service Ronald Rowe stated that details of the president’s movements must remain confidential if necessary for his protection.
Source: The Washington Post
As a reminder, the U.S. Senate approved a bill providing temporary funding for the federal government but rejected the Trump administration’s demand to allocate approximately $70 billion for military spending related to Iran.
Despite large-scale U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, its nuclear program has likely not been completely destroyed. According to The New York Times, Tehran may have retained stockpiles of highly enriched uranium that would potentially be sufficient to quickly produce up to ten nuclear warheads.
