Turkish officials suspect that an Israeli intelligence report that said Iran planned to assasinate US President Donald Trump during the Ankara Nato summit last month was a ruse to undermine negotiations with Tehran, Middle East Eye has learnt.
It was around 2pm on 8 July when journalists heard that Turkish security forces were unusually deploying additional units to Ankara Airport, where Trump’s Air Force One was parked.
Ankara was under lockdown for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) summit on 7-8 July. Roads were blocked, pavements were closed, public servants had been granted a week of administrative leave, and the city was largely deserted.
The Turkish government had even transformed an airbase of the Turkish Air Force, Etimesgut Air Base, officially known as Ankara Airport, for the event, allowing heads of state to reach the summit venue within 10 minutes.
Against the backdrop of these extensive security precautions, US officials told their Turkish counterparts that they had received an intelligence report from Israel suggesting Iran could target Trump.
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People familiar with the matter told MEE that the report warned an Iranian covert operations unit could target Trump’s brand-new Air Force One near Ankara Airport.
“Supposedly, the Iranians could target the aircraft from within a one-kilometre radius using shoulder-fired missiles known as Manpads,” one person familiar with the matter told MEE.
Unlike Esenboga Airport, the international airport serving the Turkish capital, Ankara Airport is surrounded by civilian buildings, some of which are as close as 500 metres to the runway. Their proximity prompted Turkish officials to take additional precautions.
The people familiar with the issue added that the US Secret Service wanted to take further protective measures. Officials first moved Trump’s departure from Ankara Airport to Esenboga Airport, where civilian buildings are farther from the perimeter. They then brought back the old Air Force One because it had air defence systems that the new aircraft lacked.
The threat of an Iranian attempt on Trump’s life appeared credible to many US officials, as Iran had reportedly tried to orchestrate such an attack twice before.
In July 2024, Pakistani national Asif Merchant was arrested over an alleged plot to kill US politicians, potentially including Trump. Then, in November 2024, the justice department announced charges against Afghan national Farhad Shakeri, alleging that Iran’s government had instructed him to devise a plan to assassinate Trump. Iran has denied targeting Trump or other American officials.
The Secret Service took the latest report so seriously that, according to The Washington Post, Trump was secretly moved after boarding the old Air Force One. He was reportedly bundled into a catering vehicle and taken to an accompanying US government aircraft, a C-32.
A Turkish official confirmed to MEE that US officials had sought additional landing permits for the C-32 as part of the plan and pushed for last-minute changes, leaving Ankara with the impression that something was amiss.
Yet the Israeli intelligence report arrived at a sensitive moment. Trump was negotiating a deal with Iran to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
During his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump repeatedly said that the war with Iran had ended and expressed hope about the negotiations, a source who attended the meeting told MEE.
That position sharply contradicted the agenda of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was pushing for a resumption of hostilities, including heavier strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure and a new assassination campaign targeting Iranian leaders.
‘No way this report was true’
Turkish officials now say they believe the Israeli intelligence report was probably a ruse by Netanyahu’s government to portray itself as protecting Trump, derail negotiations with Iran and undermine Trump’s apparently close relationship with Erdogan.
During his meeting with the Turkish head of state the day before the alleged assassination plot, Trump also signalled that he was prepared to lift sanctions imposed on Turkey over its 2019 purchase of the Russian-made S-400 missile system and to sell F-35 fighter jets to Ankara. Netanyahu also strongly opposes F-35 sales to Ankara, arguing that it would change the balance of power in the region, eroding Israel’s “Qualitative Military Edge”.
“Of course, we took the report very seriously and tried to assist our American counterparts as much as possible,” one person familiar with the matter told MEE. “Yet it was very clear to us that there was no way this report was true.”
Although Iranian cells have previously kidnapped or assassinated Iranian dissidents in Turkey, Tehran has never dared to carry out a sophisticated operation there involving anything beyond a simple firearm.
‘I guess they need heroes for an attack that never happened and, most likely, was never planned’
– Ankara insider
Such an attack would require extensive knowledge of the country, as well as safe houses, covert routes into and out of Ankara, and the transportation of Manpads through numerous roadblocks and security checkpoints ahead of the summit.
An attempt of this kind could also put Turkey on a collision course with Iran, which has managed to maintain relatively stable relations with Ankara since the beginning of the war.
Iranian officials have publicly thanked Turkey several times for not supporting what they described as a Mossad-CIA plot to trigger an insurrection in western Iran with the involvement of armed Iranian Kurdish groups.
An Ankara insider told MEE it was ironic that details of the Secret Service operation to protect Trump had been leaked just a month after the summit.
“I guess they need heroes for an attack that never happened and, most likely, was never planned,” the insider said.
MEE has reached out to the White House and Israeli foreign ministry for comment.
