Officials said no credible threat to Trump ahead of Air Force One switch: Sources

President Trump unexpectedly transferred from Air Force One to another aircraft using a catering container, according to sources. U.S. intelligence agencies had expressed concerns over potential threats to the president's safety, specifically a purported Iranian plot to target Air Force One with a shoulder-fired missile, according to the sources.

The intelligence concerning the suspected Iranian attack originated from Israel, which relayed the information to the United States as Trump was about to leave Ankara, Turkey, stated the sources. Israeli officials had not had the opportunity to thoroughly assess the information or independently evaluate its credibility, the sources added, but shared it due to the urgency of Trump's departure.

While U.S. intelligence agencies cast doubt on the validity of the intelligence, indicating it did not suggest a serious or immediate threat, the Secret Service decided to enhance security measures for the president's departure, resulting in him being moved to another military aircraft via the catering truck, the sources revealed.

On Tuesday, Trump confirmed that he was adhering to the Secret Service and military's directives, stating, "It's only up to Secret Service. I just follow what they'd like to do. So I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane. Equal safety. But they wanted me to do it, so I do it.

I do what they say." Tracing its roots to Iran's disdain for Trump following his 2020 airstrike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, the potential threat from Iran and its proxies has been a source of heightened sensitivity, as noted by sources. Deputy Director of the U.S. Secret Service, Matt Quinn, acknowledged during an event last month that Iran had publicly expressed its intention to kill Trump.

Despite the continued investigation by U.S. and Turkish authorities after Trump's departure from the NATO summit, no evidence of an operational plot was uncovered, according to an official. The Washington Post had previously reported that the CIA had "low confidence" in the Iranian assassination threat shared by Israel, with the CIA declining to comment on the matter.