President Donald Trump was secretly moved off Air Force One and flown out of Turkey aboard a smaller military aircraft last month as part of an extraordinary deception operation triggered by a credible Iranian assassination threat, while journalists and some White House staff were deliberately left believing the president remained aboard the iconic presidential jet, The Washington Post reports.

The highly classified operation unfolded on July 8 as Trump prepared to leave Ankara following a NATO summit with world leaders. The departure came one night after U.S. forces renewed military strikes against Iran at Trump’s direction following the collapse of negotiations aimed at ending the months-long war between Washington and Tehran.

In full view of television cameras, Trump arrived at the airport in his limousine, climbed the stairs of the legacy blue-and-white Air Force One and waved before disappearing inside. What happened minutes later was concealed from virtually everyone outside the operation.

According to a U.S. official and other material reviewed by The Post, Trump and several aides exited from a door on the opposite side of the aircraft and stepped into an airport catering truck normally used to load food and supplies. The truck’s container was hydraulically lowered before the vehicle drove away from Air Force One and toward a nearby Air Force C-32A, a modified Boeing 757.

Trump was then secretly transferred onto the smaller aircraft. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A separately using external stairs, an effort designed to make the flight appear routine, and traveled aboard the plane with Trump to Britain.

Meanwhile, members of the White House press corps and some White House staff boarded the legacy Air Force One believing Trump was traveling with them. White House personnel instructed journalists to close their window shades before departure. A U.S. official described the presidential 747 as a “decoy.”

Trump’s true location was concealed from the American public and even many senior U.S. officials for hours. The smaller aircraft carrying the president flew to Britain under the unremarkable military call sign “Reach 18,” or “RCH18,” rather than Air Force One, and systems that would have allowed the aircraft to be easily tracked publicly were switched off.

The deception extended to the aircraft carrying the press. Public flight-tracking information reviewed by The Post showed the legacy presidential jet initially appearing near Istanbul without a listed call sign before taking the “AF1” designation during the flight despite Trump not being aboard.

A U.S. official said a credible threat involving Iran triggered the operation. Concerns about Iranian plots targeting Trump and other American officials have intensified amid the war and Washington’s role in the killing of Iranian military and political leaders.

The operation came only days after Trump began using the newer Boeing 747-8 provided to the United States by Qatar. That aircraft had undergone hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades before being fielded by the Air Force in July, but The Post reported that it does not contain some of the defensive countermeasures available on the legacy Air Force One.

The Qatari-provided aircraft departed Turkey first on July 8. Trump’s secret C-32A and the decoy Air Force One subsequently headed for Britain’s Mildenhall air base. The C-32A arrived at approximately 10:20 p.m., with the legacy Air Force One landing several minutes later at approximately 10:29 p.m.

It remains unclear precisely how Trump transferred from the C-32A back to the legacy presidential aircraft after landing in Britain. At approximately 10:56 p.m., however, Trump appeared before television cameras descending the external stairs of the legacy Air Force One, maintaining the public appearance that he had arrived aboard that aircraft.

After greeting U.S. service members, Trump boarded the newer presidential 747-8 shortly after 11 p.m. for the trip back to Washington, with the press and staff also transferring aboard.

During the return flight, Trump spoke with journalists for approximately 15 minutes. Asked why reporters had been ordered to close their window shades in Turkey, Trump replied that it was “because you’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.”

Trump said there is a “threat all the time” against his life and that he is “number one” on Iran’s “list.”

“But if I go, you go. Right?” Trump told the reporters. “Perhaps someday you want to change professions.”

The White House has continued publicly describing Trump as having departed Turkey aboard the legacy Air Force One. Asked by The Post about the operation, White House communications director Steven Cheung did not address the secret transfer, instead defending the security of the newer presidential aircraft. The Pentagon referred questions to the White House, while a Secret Service spokesman did not respond.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)