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Iran allegedly planned to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump on Turkish soil during last week's NATO summit in Ankara, according to Israeli media reports.
The report said a Western intelligence agency detected the plan and passed a warning to U.S. authorities in advance.
According to a report by Israeli broadcaster Channel 12, senior Iranian officials viewed Trump's visit to Ankara for the NATO summit as a "one-time opportunity" to assassinate him, and a Western intelligence agency detected the Iranian assessment and warned U.S. authorities in advance.
The report claimed this warning led to the switch of the presidential aircraft.
A separate report by Israeli broadcaster Channel 13, citing senior sources, said the intelligence that detected signs of the assassination attempt was passed to the U.S. immediately and included a quote attributed to a senior Iranian official: "This is our opportunity, there will be no better opportunity than this," in apparent reference to Trump's planned visit to Türkiye.
According to reports cited by Channel 13, the Western intelligence agency involved has been identified as Israel's.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that Trump departed the NATO summit in Ankara aboard his older Air Force One aircraft rather than the newer plane gifted by Qatar.
According to sources familiar with the matter cited by the Times, the decision followed a special security recommendation from the Secret Service as a precautionary measure, and was not initially attributed to a specific threat. Later reports linked the decision to intelligence about the alleged Iranian assassination plan.
According to those sources, the newer Qatari-gifted aircraft does not yet include all of the operational capabilities of the older plane.
The takeoff from Ankara was also described as unusual.
Trump reportedly boarded the older aircraft quickly, before accompanying journalists could observe or photograph him ascending the stairs, a departure from standard procedure, and passengers were asked to lower their window shades before takeoff.
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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed the reports in an interview with Fox News, saying, "Israeli intelligence passed information to Trump and his administration about a very specific assassination attempt that the Iranians tried to carry out against the president."
Trump said at the NATO summit last Wednesday, when he said: "They (Iran) want to take out the U.S. leader, me. I'm on every list. I'm on every single one of their lists, and so far I guess I've been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn't last very long, because that's the way it goes."
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