The Washington Post reveals the details of Trump’s secret departure from Türkiye after an Iranian threat.
The Washington Post reveals the details of Trump’s secret departure from Türkiye after an Iranian threat.
2026-08-11
Shafaq News – Washington
The Washington Post has revealed the behind-the-scenes details of US President Donald Trump’s departure from Turkey last month on a secret military plane, contrary to what the White House announced regarding his departure on Air Force One, due to a credible Iranian threat to target him.
The newspaper quoted an American official familiar with the operation as saying that Trump boarded the old Air Force One plane in front of cameras in the capital, Ankara, before being secretly transferred by a catering truck inside the airport to a smaller C-32A military plane, on which he left Turkish territory.
She noted that the new presidential plane, provided by Qatar and which made its first international flight during Trump’s visit to Turkey to participate in the NATO summit, remained at an airbase in Britain to allow US military personnel to inspect it.
According to the newspaper, the deception operation came in response to a credible threat targeting Trump, as the old presidential plane was used as bait, while the president actually left on the other military plane.
Before leaving Ankara, Trump had said via Truth Social that he would use the old light blue presidential plane to travel to the Royal Air Force base in Mildenhall, Britain, while the new plane stopped at the same base for inspections by the military.
The newspaper added that journalists who thought they were traveling with Trump on the old Air Force One were instructed to keep the curtains of the press cabin windows closed throughout the flight, while some White House staff were unaware that the president was not on the plane.
When reporters later asked Trump why the curtains had been kept closed, he replied that they were “probably on a dangerous trip,” adding that whoever was going with him “would go too.”
According to the Washington Post, the C-32A aircraft carrying Trump arrived in Britain at approximately 10:20 PM (1:20 AM Baghdad time), while the presidential plane and the media arrived minutes later. It was unclear how Trump was subsequently transferred from the military aircraft to the old Air Force One aircraft.
The newspaper noted that the use of an alternative aircraft for camouflage had previously occurred in 2000, when former US President Bill Clinton used an unmarked aircraft to travel to Pakistan, while simultaneously sending his official presidential plane on a different route as bait.
shafaq.com
