A shocking revelation has emerged that Iran had planned to assassinate President Donald Trump during his recent visit to Turkey. According to new details, foreign intelligence services uncovered information indicating that the Iranian regime intended to "eliminate" the President while he was in Turkey.
The intelligence was immediately passed to American officials, leading security officials to change the aircraft Trump used for his return flight to Washington. This reportedly involved switching to an older, more heavily fortified Air Force One, rather than the newly converted aircraft donated by Qatar.
The extraordinary security precautions surrounding Trump's departure from Ankara after the NATO summit may now be explained by this alleged Iranian plot. Members of the White House press pool were instructed to keep the aircraft's window shades closed after departing Ankara, sparking questions about the unusual directive.
When questioned about the directive, Trump appeared to reference the Iranian threat, suggesting that it was "probably due to the sleazebags over here," an apparent reference to the Iranian regime. Iran shares a border with Turkey, making Trump's travel plans a potentially high-risk endeavor.
Concerns about the Iranian plot were serious enough to raise concerns among U.S. security officials as the President traveled relatively close to Iranian territory. Although officials had not fully established the plot's credibility, the warning contributed to concerns about the newly converted presidential aircraft's defensive capabilities.
The Trump administration later subpoenaed several journalists in connection with an investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive government information concerning Air Force One and the security decisions surrounding Trump's return flight. The subpoenas directed the journalists to testify before a federal grand jury investigating a possible violation of federal criminal law.
The investigation focuses on the suspected unauthorized disclosure of classified information, not on the journalists themselves. The latest report suggests that the information disclosed may have concerned an active Iranian plot to assassinate the President of the United States.
The Iranian regime has repeatedly threatened Trump in retaliation for the January 2020 U.S. strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force. Trump has previously warned that any successful Iranian assassination attempt against him would bring devastating consequences for the regime.
