Iran knew what floor Trump was staying on during NATO summit, US officials say

US authorities detected a specific Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump during last month's NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, The New York Times reported Tuesday (local time).

Two anonymous US officials told the Times that American intelligence agencies gathered information through multiple channels and confirmed a concrete threat involving surface-to-air missiles targeting Air Force One — regardless of which aircraft Trump was aboard.

The officials added that a person carrying a man-portable shoulder-fired missile was spotted near the NATO summit venue, and that Iranian operatives had identified the specific floor of the Ankara hotel where Trump was staying.

The Times said the US government judged the intelligence credible enough to mount an unusual deception operation to spirit Trump out of Turkey.

Departing Ankara's airport on July 8, Trump was seen boarding the older Air Force One before secretly slipping through a catering container connected to the aircraft's opposite door and transferring to a military transport plane bound for the United Kingdom.

The C-32A transport carrying Trump flew to RAF Mildenhall in Britain with its tracking systems switched off, operating under the ordinary call sign "Reach 18" rather than "Air Force One," the designation reserved for aircraft carrying the US president.

Upon arriving in Britain, Trump quickly transferred back to Air Force One before cameras could capture the switch, then appeared before reporters to address US service members.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that intelligence about the assassination plot — including details that Iranian operatives planned to use a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile — had been passed to the United States at the time.