President Trump abruptly switched aircraft when leaving Turkey this month after what officials judged to be a credible threat that Iranian proxy forces were targeting him and Air Force One, according to multiple people briefed on the matter.
The threat emerged while Mr. Trump was attending the NATO summit. He had flown into Ankara on the new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8, which lacks the same advanced defensive capabilities of the old Air Force One, as The New York Times previously reported.
After the U.S. government picked up on the threat, the Secret Service urged Mr. Trump to change planes. He later announced that he would be using the old plane to leave the country.
The information about the nature of the threat, which has not been reported before, sheds light on why the White House moved swiftly to swap out the planes. It also underscores the concerns about the security of the donated jet, which Mr. Trump pressed to be ready as soon as possible for his use.
The information that U.S. officials had did not indicate that the proxy forces had any specific focus on the new plane, but rather that they were targeting Mr. Trump and whatever aircraft he was traveling in.
The people briefed on the matter spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity to discuss the information.
The White House did not comment. But in response to questions from The Times, a senior administration official pointed to Mr. Trump’s public remarks about Iran’s efforts to kill him and expressed confidence in the steps taken to protect the president and the traveling delegation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.
The details of the threat were not disseminated widely even within the administration; some officials were told only that the switch in planes was a precautionary measure because of general concerns about Iran. Key members of Congress have not been briefed on the specific threat.
Mr. Trump initially said the switch in planes was to give American service members in Britain a chance to tour the new aircraft, and he denied the decision was security related. The Times reported that the Secret Service had urged him to switch planes.
After The Times reported this month that federal officials had significant concerns about the security capabilities of the jet, the government launched a leak investigation seeking grand jury testimony from several Times journalists as well as their phone records and those of their relatives. (The Justice Department withdrew the subpoenas on Thursday.)
The president appeared to acknowledge on Sunday that the plane was lacking some of the features that the older Boeings used as Air Force One have, telling a reporter who noted that the Qatari plane lacks antimissile defenses that it would soon be “maxed out.” The roughly 14-year-old plane went through a costly yet relatively rushed process to retrofit the aircraft to serve as Air Force One.
At the time of the swap, there were reports that Israel had shared intelligence with the United States about Iranian efforts to kill Mr. Trump. Some American officials viewed Israel’s intelligence with skepticism, believing it was an effort to provoke Mr. Trump to intensify attacks against Iran.
The threat to Air Force One in Turkey that prompted the change in airplanes was separate from the one attributed to Israeli intelligence, according to some of the people briefed on the matter.
The United States had resumed strikes against Iran while Mr. Trump was in Ankara, roughly 1,000 miles away from Tehran. While at the summit, Mr. Trump also spoke openly about Iranian efforts to try to kill him when asked about why he was swapping out the Qatari-donated jet for the older one.
“They want to take out the U.S. leader — me,” he said. “I’m on every list. I saw this morning, 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.”
Forces with ties to Iran have long wanted to assassinate Mr. Trump, dating back to his first term when U.S. forces killed Qassim Suleimani, a top Iranian general.
Mr. Trump for years has complained about the state of the two airplanes that have served as Air Force One since 1990, saying they were not impressive enough to bring on foreign trips. Military officials separately expressed concerns that the current Air Force One jets had been used for many more years than had been intended.
Last year, Qatar said it was donating a Boeing 747-8 for Mr. Trump’s use, and Mr. Trump has said he plans to take it with him for his presidential library when he leaves office.
Officials have described the new plane as a “bridge” until the long-delayed Boeing jets commissioned by the Air Force are delivered.
Since Mr. Trump returned to the United States from Turkey, White House officials have said the new plane will be taken out of service for about one month this fall for additional upgrades.
“The new Air Force One is perfectly safe for the president’s travels, but will receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. “During that time, the president will fly on the old Air Force One.”
It is unclear what upgrades can be completed in such a short time frame.
At a briefing on Wednesday before the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which was interrupted in April when a gunman rushed past a security checkpoint, Secret Service officials said the threat level for the agency’s protectees was the highest they had ever seen.
“The numbers at this agency, and certainly I’ve never seen in my 24-year career, they’re off the charts,” Sean Curran, the director of the Secret Service, told reporters. “I think the environment has become very volatile and that’s just across the board. I think not just to our protectees, but local officials. The threat picture and environment is as large as I’ve ever seen it.”
Mr. Curran was the head of Mr. Trump’s Secret Service protective detail between Mr. Trump’s two terms. He was among the agents with Mr. Trump when, as a candidate, he was shot in an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pa., in July 2024.
Shawn McCreesh contributed reporting.
