Israel warned the United States this week that Iran has developed a new and specific plan to assassinate President Donald Trump, The Wall Street Journal and CNN reported Thursday, as the Secret Service separately directed Trump to change aircraft during his return from the NATO summit in Turkey over “an abundance of caution.”
U.S. agencies had not independently verified the intelligence as of Thursday.
Several American officials told reporters they suspected the intelligence may have been intended, at least in part, to influence Trump’s policy decisions toward Iran at a sensitive moment in negotiations. A ceasefire between Washington and Tehran has visibly unraveled in recent weeks, with both sides conducting strikes.
Trump, speaking to reporters at the NATO summit, acknowledged the threats openly. “I may be gone too, because I’m their number one target,” he said. “It’s out all over the place. I’m their number one because they’re scum. That’s the way they act, and that’s the way they’ve done it for 47 years.”
The plot warning arrived alongside another security development. The Secret Service urged Trump to depart Turkey on the older presidential aircraft rather than the new Boeing 747-8 gifted by Qatar and recently pressed into service as an interim Air Force One.
Sources familiar with the internal deliberations, speaking to CBS News, NBC News, and ABC News on condition of anonymity, said the new Qatari-donated plane had been hurried into operation and lacked certain desired defensive capabilities, including sophisticated communications and military countermeasures that the older VC-25A aircraft carries as standard.
The new plane, officially designated the VC-25B Bridge by some aviation observers, made its first long-haul presidential mission carrying Trump to Ankara for the NATO summit. After landing, the aircraft was flown ahead to RAF Mildenhall in eastern England while Trump traveled separately on the older jet.
“We just landed and met up with our new Air Force One, which was sent earlier to RAF Mildenhall, so we could show the wonderful Servicemembers, as per the entire Base’s request. They were very excited, picture enclosed. It was on our way back to the States from Turkey, with… pic.twitter.com/Zd5vDO12G9
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 8, 2026
Trump publicly framed the switch as a gesture toward U.S. military personnel. He posted on Truth Social that he would take the old Air Force One “for old times’ sake” so that troops stationed at Mildenhall could tour the newer plane. The White House later described the move as a deliberate “misdirection” tactic.
ABC News reported that the Secret Service made the recommendation out of “an abundance of caution amid the escalation with Iran.” The White House maintained the new plane is equipped with high-level security features, and that reporting that it lacks crucial defensive capabilities is false.
Trump ultimately rejoined the newer jet at Mildenhall for the return flight to Washington. The VC-25A, tail number 92-9000, the aircraft that served as the primary Air Force One for decades, had recently been scheduled for retirement and is not expected to remain long in active presidential service.
Senior U.S. officials continued assessing the Israeli warning as of Thursday. Iran has been linked to multiple prior assassination plots targeting Trump, several of which were disrupted in the years before and during his second term.
