Rabat – US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he secretly changed planes while leaving a NATO summit in Turkey last month, due to a potential assassination threat from Iran.
Explaining that security officials ordered the swap, Trump said: “They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane.” “I just have to do what they say,” he added.
“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” Trump said, arguing that the smaller aircraft he boarded is probably riskier than Air Force One.
“I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for.”
His comments came amid questions over whether the secret operation had put journalists and White House staff who remained aboard the presidential aircraft at risk.
Downplaying the threat against him, the president explained that he had not asked many questions about it because he regularly receives threats. “I guess there was a threat out there, I didn’t really ask too much about it,” the US president said.
The Washington Post reported that Trump also described himself as unsurprised by the threat.
Trump’s remarks marked his first public comments on the operation since The Washington Post revealed details of the operation earlier this week.
The secret operation
The clandestine manoeuvre, which took place July 8 in Ankara, involved transferring the president between aircraft using a catering truck to board a US military plane.
At the time of the flight, the White House had informed reporters that Trump was traveling aboard Air Force One from Turkey to Britain, without mentioning the aircraft switch.
Air Force One continued to Britain without Trump, while journalists and some White House staff on board believed the president was still traveling with them.
The operation took place amid a sharp escalation between Washington and Tehran. Meanwhile, Turkey’s border with Iran added to security concerns over Trump’s departure from Ankara.
