US and Turkish Officials Doubt Israeli Intelligence on Trump Plane Threat
A dramatic escape from a NATO summit in Ankara last month, involving President Donald Trump being smuggled onto a nondescript plane in a catering truck, may have been triggered by a fabricated intelligence report, according to skeptical officials in both the United States and Turkey.
The July 8 incident, which saw the Secret Service scramble to secure the president against an alleged Iranian missile threat near the runway, is increasingly viewed by intelligence professionals as a calculated ruse. While the CIA received the warning directly from Israeli sources, analysts reportedly flagged the information as low-confidence and uncompelling. Turkish authorities, tasked with investigating the purported plot, likewise dismissed the scheme as implausible after reviewing the technical details.
Beyond the immediate security theater, the episode highlights growing friction within the intelligence-sharing partnership. Current and former US officials suggest the warning served to influence presidential decision-making rather than provide genuine tactical intelligence. By stoking fears of an Iranian strike, Israeli leadership aimed to derail ongoing US-Iran peace negotiations and disrupt the strengthening rapport between Washington and Ankara. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the claims as a continuation of faulty intelligence that has already misled the US into an unnecessary regional war.
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