Report says Trump was flown out of Turkey on secret military flight amid 'credible' Iran assassination threat

A catering truck parked behind the old Air Force One at the airport in Ankara, Turkey.

President Trump was flown out of Turkey last month after attending the NATO summit there on a secret military flight amid what the Secret Service deemed a "credible" threat by Iran to assassinate Trump, according to a report by The Washington Post. 

Secret Service agents made the decision to have Trump board the old Air Force One on July 8, rather than the new plane Qatar gave the president as a gift, over concerns that the new Air Force One wasn't equipped with the same anti-missile technology the old Air Force One is outfitted with, The Washington Post reported.

Members of the press corps and White House staff also boarded the old jet, according to the report, and moments later, agents snuck Trump off the plane and into a catering truck that was waiting on the other side of Air Force One on the tarmac at the airport in Ankara, Turkey. The catering truck ushered Trump to a nearby military aircraft, which the president flew out of Turkey aboard. 

ABC News showed footage of Trump boarding Air Force One, waving to the press, and then moments later the catering truck driving away. Trump isn't seen in the footage entering the truck, but that was by design, a former Secret Service agent said. 

Retired Secret Service agent Don Mihalek told ABC News, "This type of protective move is usually done with the utmost secrecy. Very few people actually know what happens. It really goes to the secret in the Secret Service, which is often when it does its best work."

A few minutes later, according to video footage analyzed by ABC News, the catering truck can be seen pulling up to the other military aircraft parked behind Air Force One on the tarmac, which the president reportedly boarded for the flight out of Turkey. All three planes -- the new Air Force One, which Trump had flown into Turkey on, the old one and the military jet -- then flew to the U.K. As the old Air Force One left Turkey, which shares a border with Iran to the east, the transponder on the old Air Force One was reportedly turned off, and passengers were told to keep their window shades pulled down. 

Once in the U.K., Trump was secretly brought back aboard the old Air Force One, unbeknownst to reporters and most White House staff aboard the plane, who also made the switch to the new plane. News cameras showed Trump leaving the old Air Force One and then boarding the new one for the remainder of the journey back to Washington. On the return trip, reporters asked Trump why they were directed to keep the window shades down and he responded, "because you're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with," adding, his life is under threat "all the time," particularly from Iran.

The White House has neither confirmed nor denied the report. Trump has been the subject of at least three assassination attempts over the last two years, with this incident coming almost two years to the day after he was shot in the ear at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania. Click here to read the full story from The Washington Post, and below see the ABC News report showing the footage of the catering truck and the alternate military aircraft that reportedly spirited Trump out of Turkey.