Foreign
Trump Hid In Catering Truck During Secret Plane Swap Over Iran Threat – Report
United States President Donald Trump secretly switched aircraft after leaving a NATO summit in Turkey last month amid a reported Iranian threat to target his plane, according to the BBC.
The elaborate security operation reportedly involved Trump being moved from Air Force One to a smaller military aircraft using a catering truck, while journalists and some White House staff travelling with him were unaware of the switch.
US officials told CBS News that American intelligence had detected a credible Iranian threat to fire a missile at the aircraft.
The White House has not directly confirmed that the secret plane switch was carried out because of an Iranian missile threat.
Trump had earlier warned during the summit in Ankara that he was Iran’s “number one target”.
The reported operation took place on 8 July, a day after the US resumed military strikes against Iran following the collapse of negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747-8 aircraft donated by Qatar. However, he announced that he would leave Turkey aboard the older Air Force One “for old time’s sake”.
Footage showed Trump boarding the presidential aircraft at Ankara airport. However, according to a report by the Washington Post cited by the BBC, he was later secretly transferred to a C-32A military aircraft, a modified Boeing 757 commonly used by the vice-president.
The transfer was reportedly carried out using a catering truck that had been raised to the level of the aircraft on the opposite side of the plane from where Trump had initially boarded.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly boarded the C-32A separately using external stairs, helping make the operation appear routine.
Meanwhile, journalists and some White House staff boarded Air Force One and were instructed to keep the aircraft’s window shades closed. They reportedly did not know that Trump was no longer on board.
Trump flew aboard the C-32A to the UK before returning to the older Air Force One. He was later seen leaving the aircraft after it landed at RAF Mildenhall.
It remains unclear how Trump was transferred back to the older presidential aircraft.
He subsequently boarded the Qatar-donated Boeing 747-8 for the final leg of his journey to Washington.
During that flight, Trump spoke to reporters about the security threat but did not reveal details of the earlier aircraft switch.
When asked why reporters had been instructed to lower the window shades during the flight from Turkey, Trump said they were “probably on a dangerous flight” because of threats he faced.
He also said he faced a threat “all the time” and described himself as “number one” on Iran’s list.
US intelligence had previously warned of a specific threat against Trump or his aircraft, according to earlier CBS News reporting.
The New York Times had also reported concerns about the security of the Qatar-donated aircraft, including claims that the Secret Service had urged Trump to switch planes after the NATO summit.
The reports come amid wider scrutiny of the $400m Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar. The aircraft is undergoing modifications to prepare it for presidential use.
Older Air Force One aircraft are equipped with advanced defensive systems, including technology designed to counter incoming missiles. It remains unclear what comparable systems are currently installed on the Qatar-donated aircraft.
White House communications director Steven Cheung did not directly confirm or deny the reported plane switch. He said the new aircraft was equipped with advanced security measures to protect the president and his staff.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also said the new Air Force One was “perfectly safe” for the president’s travels, while noting that additional upgrades were planned.
US President Donald Trump returned to the stage at the United Nations on Tuesday, where he touted his administration’s policies in front of world leaders and issued pointed threats to some of those gathered in the room.
The lengthy speech was wide-ranging, covering the war in Iran, AI, Cuba and the role of America’s military.
The BBC’s correspondents who covered the address have picked five key moments that stood out.
1. Trump pushes message of American power
The US president has no great respect for the United Nations – he accused it of imposing a far-left agenda – but he does relish the global platform it gives him.
He used Tuesday’s speech to tout his achievements, and claim the mantle of a peacemaker, at the same time as he issued a number of pointed threats.
Iran might be annihilated, lethal strikes on small boats suspected of drug smuggling will continue and the Cuban regime may even be toppled.
The clear message was: America is still prepared to use its military might wherever Trump thinks it might be required to secure its national interests.
Trump said he was “reasserting American power” and flexed what he called the country’s “unmatched military might”.
“The United States will no longer permit threats to America to gain a foothold anywhere in the Western Hemisphere,” he said.
Once again, Trump has made the full-throated assertion to the world of “America First”.
2. Cubans walk out as Trump calls nation ‘failed state’
Trump took aim at one of the US’s closest neighbours, Cuba, calling it “an absolutely failed state” and saying his administration has been pursuing “a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba”.
“It will fall,” he said.
The Cuban delegation walked out of the hall as Trump continued his remarks.
Over the last year, the US president become more vocal in criticising Cuba’s communist government. On Tuesday, he said it was under “enormous pressure” and “failing like never before”.
The US has not, however, provided a detailed picture of what it believes change will look like in Cuba.
Cuba’s foreign minister reacted angrily to Trump’s comments and accused the US president of spreading “falsehoods”.
“The US government is incapable of accepting that Cuba is and has the right to be a full sovereign and independent country,” Bruno Rodriguez wrote on X.
3. A direct threat to ‘annihilate’ Iran
Trump presented Iran with a stark choice at the UN General Assembly: reach an agreement with Washington and rebuild the country, or face the rapid “annihilation” of the Islamic Republic.
He then again predicted that a deal to end the war would probably follow the US midterm elections in November.
His remarks illustrated Trump’s familiar strategy of coercive diplomacy – keeping negotiations open while also threatening overwhelming force.
But his language blurred the distinction between destroying the political system and threatening Iran itself.
International law experts have previously expressed concern at what they called “alarming rhetoric” used by US officials, including Trump himself, who has posted that the US might “obliterate” Iran’s power plants.
References on Tuesday to leaving “no chance of survival” and “no hope” for future generations will likely have stoked similar alarm. There is also an irony in delivering this warning at the United Nations, an organisation founded to save future generations from war.
Yet the speech was not a declaration that diplomacy has failed.
It was an attempt to define the terms of possible negotiations: the US remains prepared to make a deal, but only under the shadow of an existential threat.
4. Trump hails new Greenland security deal
Trump also praised a new deal with Greenland under which he said the US would build two military bases in the Arctic territory.
“We will have the complete ability to do what is necessary to defend the American continent and also Europe,” he said of the deal, which he first announced on Friday.
He added that it “very much enhances” the defence alliance Nato.
The US, Denmark and Greenland held a joint signing ceremony at the UN shortly after Trump’s address.
Although Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory, it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark which primarily handles its foreign policy.
Trump administration officials are already hailing the agreement as enhancing US security at minimal cost – and with relationships intact.
Denmark and Greenland’s governments, however, will be hoping it ends the long-simmering disagreement that began when Trump threatened to take Greenland by force.
That threat shook the Nato alliance and sorely tested the US-Danish relationship.
Given Trump had tried for months to purchase or annex the semi-autonomous territory, some analysts are viewing it as a quiet win for diplomacy.
5. An attempted rebrand of AI
Trump has a penchant for branding, and in his speech he gave Artificial Intelligence a new name: Super Intelligence.
“The use of the word artificial makes it sound fake,” he said. “It’s not fake, it’s actually amazing. But we have to be careful.”
“Welcome to the new world of Super Intelligence – SI,” he added.
Trump has previously argued that the US must come out on top in the AI development race, saying last week: “Whoever wins AI, wins.”
The president is firmly against government regulation or introducing new guardrails – and that puts him at odds with many of those gathered at the UN.
For those who are calling for regulation, the question is whether the slow pace of diplomacy can keep up with AI’s rapid development.
A Cessna 550 Citation Bravo carrying Brazilian singer Rey Vaqueiro and seven other people has overrun the runway while landing at Parelhas Airport in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
The aircraft, with registration PP-WMO, was involved in the incident during the early hours of Sunday, September 13, according to aviation news platform FL360aero, which reported the incident in a post on X.
The aircraft reportedly ran beyond the runway while landing at the airport and subsequently caught fire, with both engines said to have been engulfed in flames.
Firefighters battled the blaze for approximately five hours before it was brought under control.
All eight people on board, comprising six passengers and two crew members, reportedly evacuated the aircraft.
Some of the occupants were said to have sustained minor injuries, while no serious injuries were reported.
The aircraft was destroyed by the fire.
The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation by Brazil’s Centre for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA).
The incident involved a Cessna 550 Citation Bravo, a business jet commonly used for private and charter flights.
More flights are expected to be delayed in the United Kingdom (UK) after a technical problem with the country’s air traffic control system led to more than 2,000 cancellations.
A total of 291 flights were cancelled on Wednesday after 1,750 were cancelled on Tuesday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by the disruption.
National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the UK’s air traffic control provider, blamed the disruption on a technical glitch. Its chief executive, Martin Rolfe, apologised and said a full investigation would be carried out.
He admitted that resolving the problem had taken “longer than hoped”.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described the outage as “unacceptable”, while Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander summoned Rolfe to explain what happened.
The disruption affected several major UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham. Airports in Ireland also reported disruption.
At Heathrow, departures were initially paused on Tuesday before operations resumed and then faced further disruption later in the day.
Heathrow said its operations were recovering on Wednesday but warned passengers of further delays because aircraft and crew needed to be repositioned.
Gatwick also said flights had resumed but warned that it would take time for operations to return fully to normal.
Passengers have been advised to check directly with their airlines before travelling to airports. Heathrow said passengers should only travel if they have a confirmed flight.
The technical fault affected NATS’ flight data processing system. Rolfe said it was not the same system that failed during a major disruption in 2023.
However, the latest incident is the third technical problem experienced by NATS in three years. A computer shutdown in 2023 caused widespread disruption affecting around 700,000 passengers, while another outage in 2025 resulted in about 150 cancellations.
Airlines including Ryanair and Wizz Air have called for changes to NATS. Wizz Air UK managing director Yvonne Moynihan said the company needed to consider whether NATS was “fit for purpose”.
Despite the disruption, Rolfe defended the UK’s air traffic control system, saying it remained one of the best in the world.
However, former NATS air traffic control manager Doug Maclean said repeated failures were undermining the system’s reputation.
Even though the technical issue has been resolved, passengers are expected to face further disruption because of the backlog of flights, aircraft and crew.
NATS said it was working to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.
(BBC News)
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