According to multiple informed officials, President Trump's aircraft was switched at the last minute after concluding his trip to Turkey this month—US intelligence agencies determined there was a credible threat that Iranian proxy forces were specifically targeting the president and Air Force One.

The threat intelligence emerged while Trump was attending a NATO summit. The New York Times previously reported that for this trip to Ankara, Trump was using a Boeing 747-8 aircraft donated by Qatar, which lacks the protective equipment of the older Air Force One.

After US government intercepted the relevant threat intelligence, the Secret Service strongly recommended the president switch aircraft. Trump subsequently announced he would leave Turkey on the older Air Force One.

The details of this threat, never before disclosed, explain why the White House swiftly changed aircraft and also reveal US concerns about the security capabilities of the donated plane. Trump had been pushing to expedite the use of this new aircraft for his travel.

The intelligence obtained by the US did not indicate that armed forces specifically targeted this new aircraft; the attack target was Trump himself, regardless of which aircraft he was on.

Insiders disclosed the relevant details to the media.

The White House has not responded to this. When questioned, a senior government official cited Trump's previous public statements about Iran's alleged assassination attempts against him, stating that authorities have taken sufficient security measures to ensure the safety of the president and the accompanying delegation, expressing full confidence in this.

The threat intelligence was not widely circulated within the government; some officials were only told that the aircraft swap was a routine precaution related to the Iran situation. Key congressional members also did not receive a special briefing on this threat.

Trump initially stated publicly that the aircraft swap was merely to allow US military personnel stationed in the UK to view the new plane and denied it was for security reasons. However, media previously reported that the Secret Service had strongly recommended he switch.

After media reported this month that federal officials had significant concerns about the new aircraft's defensive capabilities, the US government initiated a leak investigation, issuing grand jury subpoenas for testimony and phone records to several reporters from the relevant newspaper and their relatives. (The US Department of Justice withdrew all subpoenas on Thursday.)

On Sunday, Trump indirectly acknowledged that the Qatari-donated aircraft lacks some protective equipment found on the older Air Force One. When a reporter pointed out the aircraft had no anti-missile system, Trump responded that the relevant equipment would be fully installed soon. This approximately 14-year-old aircraft was hastily and expensively modified to temporarily serve as the presidential plane.

Around the time of the aircraft swap, reports emerged that Israel provided the US with intelligence suggesting Iran was planning to assassinate Trump. Some US officials are skeptical of the Israeli intelligence, believing its purpose is to encourage Trump to intensify strikes against Iran.

Multiple informed individuals confirmed that the attack threat in Turkey that forced the US to change aircraft is a separate incident from the intelligence provided by Israel.

During Trump's stay in Ankara, the US military resumed strikes against Iran, occurring about 1,000 miles from the Iranian capital, Tehran. At the summit, when asked why he abandoned the Qatari-donated plane and returned to the older Air Force One, Trump publicly discussed Iran's alleged assassination plot against him.

"They want to eliminate the American leader—that is, me," he said. "My name is on every assassination list. I saw it again this morning; every list has me as a target. So far, I've been lucky, but that luck might not last forever."

Since the first Trump administration, following the US military's killing of top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, Iran-linked armed groups have long been plotting to assassinate Trump.

For years, Trump has complained that the two current Air Force One aircraft, put into service in 1990, lack sufficient grandeur for official visits, damaging his image. Military officials have other concerns: these two presidential planes have far exceeded their designed service life.

Last year, Qatar announced the gifting of a Boeing 747-8 to Trump, who stated he would permanently place the aircraft in his presidential library after leaving office.

Officials said the new aircraft is a transitional model, awaiting the delayed delivery of the next-generation Boeing presidential plane purchased by the Air Force.

After Trump returned from Turkey, White House officials stated the new aircraft would be grounded for about a month this fall for additional upgrades.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement: "This new Air Force One is fully capable of ensuring the president's travel safety, but it will undergo approximately one month of intensive upgrades this fall. During the upgrade period, the president will travel on the older Air Force One."

It remains unclear what upgrades can be completed within just one month.

At a briefing before the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, postponed to Wednesday due to an incident in April where a gunman breached a security checkpoint, a US Secret Service official stated that the threat level to protectees is at an all-time high.

Secret Service Director Sean Curran told reporters, "In my 24 years of service, I have never seen such severe threat data; the risk index is completely off the charts. The current overall social environment is extremely volatile. It's not just key figures like the president who are threatened; local officials at all levels face significant risks, with various threats emerging constantly."

Curran served as the head of Trump's personal security detail during Trump's previous term. He was also part of the security team during the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

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Editor: Liu Mingliang