U.S. intelligence agencies assessed that a suspected Iranian plan to target Air Force One was not credible before President Donald Trump was covertly moved to another aircraft ahead of his departure, according to sources cited by ABC News.
Israeli intelligence fed into the warning
The initial information suggesting an Iranian plot involved a shoulder-fired missile aimed at Air Force One. ABC News sources said the material originated with Israel and was passed to the United States as Trump was preparing to leave Ankara, Turkey.
The sources said Israeli officials had not had time to fully verify the intelligence or reach their own conclusion on how reliable it was, but decided to share it because of how quickly the president was due to depart.
U.S. agencies questioned the threat level
The sources added that U.S. intelligence agencies raised doubts about the information. They said the U.S. ultimately judged it did not point to a serious or immediate threat.
Despite those reservations, the Secret Service concluded that it could not dismiss even a possible risk. It recommended increased security measures for Trump’s departure, prompting the decision to move him to another military aircraft, ABC News sources said.
Trump moved on Secret Service advice
The president was transferred from his original plane to the replacement aircraft during the departure process, according to the sources, who described the move as taking place aboard a catering truck.
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters he had followed the Secret Service’s direction. “It’s only up to Secret Service. I just follow what they’d like to do,” he said.
He added that the Secret Service and the military wanted him to fly on a different aircraft, describing it as “equal safety”, and said he complied with their request.
Background links to Iran’s leadership
Trump has been a prominent target of Iran’s leadership since he ordered the airstrike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in early 2020, according to the sources, who pointed to heightened sensitivity around threats directed at the president from Iran and its proxies.
Deputy Director of the U.S. Secret Service Matt Quinn said at an event last month that Iran had publicly stated it wanted to kill Trump. Quinn made the remarks to reporters, according to the account provided.
Ongoing checks found no operational plot
After Trump left the NATO summit, U.S. and Turkish authorities continued investigating the suspected missile threat. One official told ABC News that they did not find evidence of an operational plot.
The Washington Post previously reported that the CIA had “low confidence” in an Iranian assassination warning against Trump that Israel had shared with the United States. The CIA has declined to comment on the matter.
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14 August 2026
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