WP: CIA doubted Iranian threat that prompted Trump’s secret plane switch in Türkiye

U.S. intelligence officials had low confidence in an Israeli warning about an Iranian threat to assassinate President Donald Trump in Türkiye last month, but the Secret Service nevertheless carried out an elaborate operation to conceal his movements and move him to another aircraft, The Washington Post reports.

The warning was relayed by Israel to the CIA, where analysts questioned the strength of the intelligence and communicated their doubts to Trump administration officials, according to current and former U.S. officials cited by the Post.

One U.S. official described the intelligence as “Israeli-derived, not U.S.-generated, and viewed as low confidence.”

The doubts add a new dimension to the administration's decision to conceal Trump's movements as he departed a NATO summit in Ankara on July 8.

Trump initially boarded a legacy Air Force One aircraft in Ankara before being secretly transferred to a U.S. Air Force C-32A. He was moved between aircraft using an airport catering truck and then flown, accompanied by a small group of aides, to Britain's Mildenhall air base.

The aircraft carrying Trump was escorted by F-16 fighter jets, according to U.S. officials and material reviewed by the Post.

The White House did not directly answer questions about the intelligence received from Israel or how U.S. officials assessed it.

“As the President has said, he has faced numerous threats on his life, including ones from Iran, and every measure is taken to ensure his safety,” a U.S. official said in a statement. “The United States Secret Service’s core mission is protecting the President, which they achieved.”

The CIA declined to comment, while the Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for details.

Despite doubts over the warning, the Secret Service decided that the potential risk justified taking additional precautions.

“The Secret Service has had three near misses with this president, so they’re not taking any chances,” a U.S. official said. “They did what they had to do.”

The Iranian threat against Trump and other senior U.S. officials has remained a major security concern since the 2020 U.S. killing of Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Quds Force. Those concerns intensified after the killing of Iran's supreme leader and other senior officials at the beginning of the Iran war, according to the Post.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Israel had shared intelligence with the U.S. government about an Iranian threat against Trump.

Some U.S. intelligence officials, however, questioned whether Israel's warning was intended primarily to provide information or to influence Trump's decision-making and U.S. policy in the region.

Israel regards Iran as its most immediate threat, while also viewing Türkiye as a medium- to long-term concern, according to the report. Israeli officials have also been wary of improving ties between Washington and Ankara under Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“It fit a broader pattern of Israeli intelligence reporting that some officials see as designed as much to shape presidential decision-making as to inform it,” a former U.S. official familiar with the matter said.

The former official said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been briefed on both the Israeli intelligence and the Secret Service's planned operation, but nevertheless boarded the legacy Air Force One, which presumably would have been the aircraft targeted by Iran.

Another U.S. official familiar with the security discussions questioned the seriousness of the threat, noting that tens of thousands of Turkish security personnel were deployed for the NATO summit.

The episode has prompted Democratic lawmakers to seek greater clarity over the intelligence and the decision to conduct the secret flight.

“I am very curious about the extent to which the Israeli-provided intelligence was not only credible but independently verifiable,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, told the Post. “I have no doubt that Iran would like to see the president gone, but this all seems a little fantastical.”

Trump said on August 11 that the decision to use an alternate aircraft was made by the Secret Service.

“It’s really just up to the Secret Service. I just follow what they like to do,” Trump told reporters. “They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety. … I do what they say.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev