A big revelation has been made regarding the security of US President Donald Trump during his visit to Turkey. According to US media reports, Trump had to change his plane mid-tour after receiving credible threat input from Iran-backed groups. It was told that the threat was directly targeting Trump and his plane. The security agencies took immediate action and advised him to depart on the old Air Force One instead of the new plane.

Received threat input during Turkey tour

According to The New York Times report, Trump had reached Turkey’s capital Ankara to attend the NATO summit. He reached there on a new Boeing 747-8 aircraft donated by Qatar, but during the journey, US agencies received information about a serious threat from Iran-backed groups. After this, the Secret Service advised Trump to immediately abandon the new plane and return on the old Air Force One.

Secret Service changed the plane for security reasons

It has been told in the report that as soon as the US government got intelligence about this threat, the Secret Service decided to change the plane keeping in mind the security of the President. According to officials, the threat was not only from the new Boeing 747-8, but Trump and whatever aircraft he was traveling in could be targeted.

White House had earlier informed about the general decision

Initially the White House had described the decision to change the aircraft as a normal procedure. However, now officials have admitted that this decision was taken in view of the security threat related to Iran. At that time, Trump had publicly said that he changed the plane so that American soldiers stationed in Britain could tour the new plane. He also rejected speculations linking this decision to security.

Questions raised on the security system of the new aircraft

After this incident, questions are also being raised on the security arrangements of the new Boeing 747-8 aircraft received from Qatar. It is being told that this aircraft does not have a modern anti-missile protection system like the old Air Force One. Recently, during a conversation with journalists, Trump had also pointed towards this. When asked that the aircraft does not have an anti-missile system, he said that it will soon be fully equipped with state-of-the-art security features.

The plane will be upgraded again for a month

This 14-year-old aircraft was modified rapidly and extensively before being included in the President’s service. The White House has now announced that the plane will be taken out of service for about a month later this year for additional security and technical upgrades.

White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said the new Air Force One is fully safe for the president’s travel, but it will undergo additional upgrades and security improvements in the fall, which will take about a month. During this period the President will use only the old Air Force One.

This matter was different from the intelligence information received from Israel

The report also said that the threat input received during the Turkey visit was different from separate intelligence information shared by Israel in which Trump was suspected to be targeted by Iran. Some American officials believed that some of the information given by Israel could have been aimed at creating pressure to further strengthen America’s military action against Iran.

Tension increased amid attacks on Iran

During Trump’s visit to Turkey, America had resumed military attacks against Iran. This further increased the already existing tension between the two countries. During the conference, Trump, referring to the threats looming over him, had said, “They want to eliminate the leader of America, that is, me. I am on every list of theirs. I saw this morning that I am included on every list of theirs. So far I have been a little lucky, but this luck should always be with me, not necessarily.”

Secret Service said – threat level at record high

Meanwhile, the American Secret Service says that the threat level against America’s top leaders has reached its highest level ever. At an event organized before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Secret Service Director Sean Curran said that in his 24-year career he has never seen so many threats. He said, “The current environment has become extremely unstable. Threats not only to our protected leaders but also to local officials have continuously increased. The security challenges are the highest in my entire career.”