Media: A plane was turned into a "decoy" to secretly fly Trump out of Turkey
President Donald Trump was flown out of Turkey as part of an unprecedented secret operation because of an assassination threat from Iran, The Washington Post (WP) writes, citing a U.S. official.
The publication reports that on July 8, after the NATO summit, the head of state flew out on a military aircraft. At the same time, the White House claimed that the leader was aboard Air Force One. In front of journalists, the politician boarded that plane, and a few minutes later he was secretly moved to an Air Force C-32A. This aircraft is usually used for loading food and other supplies before a flight.
"This made Air Force One a 'decoy,' with members of the media and some White House staff on board," the source said.
He added that over the past 30 years there had been other instances of using the aircraft-swap scheme.
As the newspaper notes, for several decades the U.S. government has had concerns about Iranian terrorist plots against American politicians, including Trump. These concerns have recently intensified in connection with the conflict in the Middle East and the elimination of many of the Islamic Republic's military and political leaders.
