Trump secretly flew military jet from Turkey after Iranian threat, Washington Post reports

The deception operation

On 8 July 2026, at Esenboğa airport in Ankara, President Donald Trump boarded the older, powder-blue Air Force One Boeing 747 in front of television cameras, waved, and disappeared inside. Journalists and White House staff followed, believing they were traveling with the president. But Trump was no longer aboard. According to a Washington Post investigation by Dan Lamothe, John Hudson, Andrew Ba Tran, and Joyce Sohyun Lee, he had exited the plane through a door on the opposite side and climbed into an airport catering truck whose container had been raised to the aircraft's door level. A few minutes later, the catering truck transported him to a smaller military plane, an Air Force C-32A, parked separately on the tarmac.

The operation was kept secret from the American public and many high-ranking U.S. officials for several hours. The White House maintained that Trump was aboard Air Force One when departing Turkey. A U.S. official described the operation to the Post as a "deception operation," with Air Force One serving as a decoy. Even journalists and some White House staff aboard the older 747 believed they were flying with the president.

The Iranian threat

The ruse was prompted by what a source described as a credible threat from Iran against Trump and his aircraft. The timing was precarious: Trump was in Ankara for the NATO summit, and Turkey shares a border with Iran. The night before, U.S. forces had resumed airstrikes against Iran on Trump's orders following the collapse of Washington-Tehran negotiations. Iran considers Trump personally responsible for U.S. operations that led to the deaths of senior Iranian military and political figures, according to the Greek outlet Η Ναυτεμπορική.

Journalists aboard Air Force One received instructions, normally reserved for war zones, to keep window shades down. The threat was not specific to the Qatari-donated jet, the New York Times reported. The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported a warning originating from Israel regarding the security of the new presidential aircraft.

The three-plane shuffle

Trump had flown to Ankara aboard a newly renovated Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, which the U.S. government worked quickly to retrofit for presidential travel. For the return, he announced on Truth Social he would use the older Air Force One "for old time's sake," saying the Qatari jet would stop at RAF Mildenhall so U.S. service members could tour it. The C-32A, a military variant of a Boeing 757, arrived in the United Kingdom at approximately 10:20 p.m. The older Air Force One, carrying journalists and staff, arrived minutes later. Video footage shows Trump leaving the older Air Force One at approximately 10:56 p.m. It remains unclear how he transferred from the smaller plane to the larger one.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A separately via external stairs, making the flight appear routine. He flew with Trump to the United Kingdom on the same aircraft.

Official response and earlier controversy

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung provided a statement defending the Qatari jet's security protocols and acknowledging the use of subterfuge.

As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.

The New York Times had earlier reported on security vulnerabilities of the Qatari-donated jet, noting it was insufficiently protected against missiles and had other security problems. Trump was reportedly furious about the publication, prompting an investigation into the leak. Journalists were summoned to appear before a grand jury, but the Justice Department later temporarily withdrew the subpoenas after the Times went to court to block them.