President Donald Trump was reportedly forced to hide in a catering cart after an assassination threat from Iran, following the NATO summit in Turkey. A senior US official said the president was taken to a military jet for a secret flight out of the country after concerns of the plot emerged.
Secret Departure from Summit
Trump was leaving the NATO summit on July 8 and announced he was travelling back on a different plane to the one he arrived on, which was a 747-8 gifted to him by Qatar. This caused confusion at the time, but he said he opted to do so "for old times' sake."
The Qatari jet reportedly made its way to a US military base in the United Kingdom, without Trump on board. However, a senior official told the New York Times that older jet also did not have the president on board. Trump was instead transported via a food cart that had been fitted to the belly of the plane, to a third plane, which he traveled aboard in secret to the UK, reports The Express US.
White House Hints at Threat
White House communications director Steven Cheung hinted previously that there may have been a threat against the president during his departure from Turkey. "As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal — including distraction and misdirection — to address those threats," Cheung said at the time.
The alleged threat came the same week that Israel shared intelligence with the US disclosing a new Iranian plot to assassinate the president. It was at this time that the agreed ceasefire became weak again, with both sides relaunching missiles.
Trump's Response
Trump has spoken openly about being a primary target for Iran, but insisted that there would be consequences if they tried. A few days after he returned from the NATO summit, he told reporters that he was "number one on the kill list for Iran."
"1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one-year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran - PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!"
