美国总统特朗普在上月土耳其北约峰会后，因美国情报部门检测到的伊朗导弹威胁，采取了一系列非常规的安全措施离开该国。[5] 7月8日，特朗普在安卡拉机场登上空军一号后数分钟内，通过机场餐饮车被秘密转移到一架空军C-32A军用飞机上。[2][5] 白宫对外宣称他乘坐老款空军一号，而实际上机上的记者和部分工作人员被蒙在鼓里，被要求关闭窗帘，他们只在稍后才意识到总统已不在飞机上。[5][6]
这一秘密行动的具体方式是，一辆餐饮车通过液压装置升至飞机门口对面，特朗普被隐藏在车内转运。[2][3] 防长皮特·赫格塞斯随后通过外部楼梯登上C-32A飞机以掩人耳目。[5] 白宫安全部主任史蒂芬·秦表示："我们使用所有工具来应对那些针对总统的威胁"。[2] 对于这一做法，特朗普对记者表示他遵循了特勤局和军方的指示。[5]
特朗普与伊朗之间的紧张关系由来已久。[1] 2020年1月，特朗普下令空袭击杀伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队司令卡西姆·苏莱曼尼后，伊朗曾承诺报复。[1] 2024年，美国执法部门逮捕了巴基斯坦人阿西夫·梅尔商特，涉嫌与伊朗革命卫队合谋杀害特朗普；四个月后，阿富汗公民法哈德·沙克里因另一项针对特朗普的暗杀阴谋受控。[1] 梅尔商特在2026年3月被定罪，沙克里仍在逃。[1]
今年2月，特朗普批准以色列空袭击杀伊朗最高领袖哈梅内伊后，他在接受美国广播公司记者采访时表示："我在他伤害我之前先下手了"。[1] 国防部长彼得·赫格塞斯在3月回应道："伊朗试图杀死特朗普总统，特朗普总统笑到了最后"。[1] 伊朗随后在哈梅内伊的葬礼上发出复仇标语，德黑兰中心广场的建筑物上出现壁画，展示特朗普躺在黑色棺材中，文字写着"我们将杀死特朗普"。[1]
President Trump underwent an elaborate and covert aircraft exchange at an Ankara airport on July 8 following a NATO summit, prompted by credible U.S. intelligence warnings of an Iranian missile strike [5]. After boarding the newer Boeing 747 Air Force One in full view of journalists and staff, Trump was secretly transferred via an airport catering vehicle to a smaller Air Force C-32A military transport within minutes [2][5]. The hydraulic lift-equipped catering truck—normally used to load meal supplies—transported the president to the alternative aircraft's door, while reporters were instructed to lower window shades [2]. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A via an external staircase to avoid drawing attention [5].
The maneuver left journalists and White House staff aboard the original Air Force One unaware they had been left as decoys, with no prior notification of the Iranian threat [6]. Trump later defended the decision, stating: "It's only up to Secret Service...Equal safety," and told reporters he was following guidance from the Secret Service and military [5][6]. White House Security Director Steven Cheung characterized the operation as standard protocol, saying: "We use all tools to address threats to the President" [2]. However, the incident drew criticism from the White House Correspondents' Association President Jacqui Heinrich, who met with government officials to express concern [6], and CNN anchor Jake Tapper noted this was the first time he had heard of a fully-occupied Air Force One being used as a decoy amid an imminent threat [6].
The plane swap reflects escalating personal tensions between Trump and Iran. In February, Trump approved an Israeli airstrike that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, afterward telling an ABC journalist: "I got him before he got me" [1]. This follows a pattern of Iranian threats against the president: in January 2020, Trump ordered the airstrike killing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Commander Qasem Soleimani, after which Iran vowed retaliation [1]. In 2024, U.S. law enforcement arrested Pakistani national Asif Merchant in connection with an alleged Iranian Revolutionary Guard plot to assassinate Trump [1], and Afghan citizen Farhad Shakeri became a subject of control in a separate assassination conspiracy [1]. Merchant was convicted in March 2026, while Shakeri remains at large [1]. In July, Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran threatened to kill him and stated: "1,000 missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran" [1]. Public displays in Iran have reinforced these hostilities, with banners at Khamenei's funeral bearing the hashtag "#KillTrump" and murals in central Tehran depicting Trump in a black coffin alongside slogans reading "We will kill Trump" and "Blood for blood" [1].