Israeli Intelligence Uncovered Iranian Plot to Shoot Down President Trump’s Plane

Israeli intelligence alerted the United States to an Iranian threat against President Donald Trump during his trip to Turkey last month, prompting an extraordinary security operation to secretly move the president onto another military aircraft.

The intelligence indicated that Iran was considering using shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles to target Trump’s plane, a U.S. official said.

Trump Secretly Moved Off Air Force One

American security officials responded by quietly changing Trump’s departure arrangements following the NATO summit in Ankara.

Trump publicly boarded an older Air Force One aircraft in front of cameras. He was then secretly transported in an airport catering truck to a smaller U.S. Air Force C-32A, which carried him out of Turkey.

The covert transfer concealed which aircraft was actually carrying the president as security officials dealt with the Iranian threat.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior Trump administration officials remained aboard the other aircraft.

Iran’s Threat Against Trump

Iran has repeatedly threatened Trump since the U.S. military eliminated IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in January 2020.

Trump has long been one of Tehran’s highest-profile targets, and Iranian officials and regime-linked figures have repeatedly called for retaliation over Soleimani’s death.

Trump has warned that any Iranian attempt to assassinate him would bring devastating consequences for the regime.

“I’ve been number one [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is,” Trump said in July, warning that the United States would “completely decimate and destroy” Iran if it attempted to assassinate the president.

Israeli Intelligence Helps Protect the U.S. President

The incident underscores the importance of intelligence cooperation between Israel and the United States as both countries confront threats from Tehran and the wider Iran-backed terror network.

Israeli intelligence provided American officials with a warning serious enough to trigger extraordinary precautions surrounding the president’s departure from Turkey.

The episode also highlights the continuing threat posed by Iran’s regime, which has spent years threatening Trump and other American officials over the killing of Soleimani.