Iran knew the exact place where Trump lived in Ankara: he was taken away from under attack in time - NYT

Iran knew the exact place where Trump stayed in Ankara during the NATO summit, but US intelligence agencies took him out of harm's way in time. This is reported by The New York Times.

According to the newspaper, the threat to the head of the White House during the NATO summit in Ankara in July 2026 was so specific that the American intelligence services applied a complex operation to conceal and evacuate it.

US intelligence has established that the Iranian side knew for sure not only the hotel in Ankara where the president was staying, but also the specific floor of his room.

Information was recorded about the immediate threat of the use of a man-portable air defense missile system (MANPADS) on an aircraft that was to be used by Trump. This meant that the target could be any aircraft designated as "Air Force One". In addition, according to intelligence data, a person with such a portable missile system was indeed seen in the area of the summit.

The threat was deemed so credible that an unprecedented deception operation was carried out for Trump's departure from Turkey. First, the president boarded the old "Air Force One", doing it defiantly in front of the cameras. However, after that, he secretly left the plane and hid in an on-board food container (catering trolley), which was located next to the ramp. He was secretly transported to a military transport plane, on which he left Turkey.

In order to maintain visibility and not reveal the maneuver, senior members of his administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary and advisers, remained on the old Air Force One. According to the NYT, most of the White House staff and journalists on board did not know that the president was no longer there.