In a rare, clandestine mission, US President , who was in Turkiye last month to attend a NATO summit, reportedly departed the country on a secret military flight after being transferred to the aircraft via an airport catering truck, while the White House said he was aboard Air Force One.
The Washington Post reported the development on Monday (local time), adding that the mission came amid an assassination threat from Iran against the as the two countries resumed hostilities last month, weeks after signing an interim ceasefire agreement in June.
Citing sources familiar with the mission, the Post reported that the operation had previously been unreported and was even unknown to some White House officials and journalists who believed they were travelling on the same plane as the US President.
Here’s how Trump flew on a secret military flight
In Turkey’s capital, in front of cameras, Trump boarded the old jet. However, minutes later, he was secretly transferred to a smaller plane, an Air Force C-32A, using an airport catering truck that is usually used to load meals and other supplies before flights.
To avoid being spotted by people not involved in the operation, Trump and several aides reportedly used an airport catering truck to leave the plane. The vehicle was raised to the aircraft door using hydraulic equipment and positioned on the side opposite Air Force One’s main entrance, according to a US official and other corroborating material.
According to US officials, Air Force One became a “decoy”, with only media personnel and some White House staff aboard the jet.
Images captured by news media at the Turkish airport showed a staircase on one side of Air Force One and the catering truck on the other, with the container being elevated to the plane’s level. The video showed the President arriving in a limousine, climbing the staircase and waving towards the tarmac.
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Minutes later, as the White House press corps boarded the jet, a man in a suit was seen entering the catering truck’s cab. The container was lowered into the vehicle’s bed, after which the truck drove away from Air Force One and headed towards the smaller C-32A parked nearby, as shown in the video. The truck remained out of view for about 40 seconds as the camera panned away and was briefly obstructed by the C-32A’s engines.
However, it remained unclear how moved from the C-32A to Air Force One after landing. He did appear before television cameras and exited the jet via external stairs at around 10:56 pm.
On July 8, the administration claimed that Trump left Turkey aboard the former Air Force One. The US President had announced on that he would use the “former Air Force One” instead of the aircraft that had flown him to Turkey, a newer Boeing 747-8 gifted to the US by Qatar. Questions have been raised about the security of the Qatar-provided aircraft, and Trump said last month, following the trip, that it would undergo additional upgrades.
A similar operation was carried out in 2000, when then-President flew into Pakistan aboard an unmarked executive jet while Air Force One was sent ahead as a decoy.
Calls for Trump’s killing grew during the Supreme Leader’s funeral
Last month, when Iran buried its slain former Supreme Leader at the Imam Reza shrine, months after he was assassinated on the first day of US-Israeli strikes in February, calls for Trump’s killing reportedly soared.
Following the warnings, the US President issued a warning against the Islamic Republic and said, “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!”
He added, “Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one-year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran.”
Trump added that he had already left for a major military response in case Tehran succeeded in assassinating him.
The secret flight highlights the heightened security concerns surrounding Trump amid escalating tensions and threats from Iran.
