CIA doubted Israeli intelligence, but the Secret Service decided not to take risks | New details on Trump's extraction operation
American officials described the threat as "information originating from Israel, considered to have a low level of confidence." The Secret Service decided not to gamble with the president's life: "They did what they had to do."
The Washington Post reported that the CIA cast doubt on the reliability of intelligence suggesting Iran was planning to assassinate Donald Trump during his departure from Turkey last month. According to former and current intelligence officials, the information provided by Israel was not perceived as convincing.
An American official claimed that Israel was attempting to influence Donald Trump's decisions. According to one source, this fits a broader pattern of Israeli intelligence reports intended to influence decision-making in the White House. Despite this, the Secret Service, which had previously dealt with three assassination attempts on Donald Trump, decided not to take the risk: they did what had to be done.
The Deception Operation
According to reports, on July 8, following the NATO summit in Ankara, a threat to the president's life from Iran emerged. The threat included information about a person spotted near the summit with a shoulder-fired missile, and an understanding that the Iranians knew exactly where Donald Trump was staying in Ankara, including which floor of the building.
This threat led Secret Service personnel to plan a hasty and unusual operation to ensure the president's safety. Donald Trump boarded the presidential plane in front of photographers and journalists, but was then smuggled in a food container to a military plane that flew him out of the country. Reporters traveling with Donald Trump were asked to keep window shades closed. Upon arrival in the UK, Donald Trump was secretly transferred back to the original Air Force One.
Doubts Regarding Reliability
Not everyone in the American intelligence community was convinced the threat was real. CIA officials believed the Israeli intelligence was not convincing enough. One source noted that tens of thousands of Turkish security personnel were participating in securing the NATO summit, raising questions regarding the probability of a scenario where an armed person could approach the airfield and strike the president's plane.
Donald Trump himself referred to the secret operation this week for the first time, stating that the decision to switch planes was made by the Secret Service: "It really depends on the Secret Service. I just do what they want. They wanted me to fly on a different flight, on a different plane, with the same level of safety. I do what they say."
