Turkish officials are questioning an Israeli intelligence warning about an alleged Iranian plan to assassinate President Donald Trump during last month’s NATO summit in Ankara, with some officials suspecting the warning may have been designed to undermine U.S.-Iran diplomacy and strain Trump’s relationship with Turkey.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Turkish officials are reportedly skeptical of Israeli intelligence that warned of an Iranian plot to assassinate President Donald Trump during last month’s NATO summit in Ankara, with some officials suspecting that the information may have been intended to disrupt U.S.-Iran diplomatic efforts.
The disputed intelligence prompted extraordinary security precautions for Trump’s departure from Turkey, including changes to his aircraft and departure arrangements, according to reports published by Middle East Eye and The Washington Post.
Middle East Eye reported Tuesday, Aug. 11, that Turkish officials believe the alleged assassination plot may have been fabricated by Israeli intelligence. The officials reportedly suspect the purpose was to further damage negotiations between Washington and Tehran while creating additional friction between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The allegation that Israel deliberately supplied false information has not been independently confirmed, and the New Development surrounding the episode remains a dispute over intelligence assessments rather than an established finding that the assassination warning was fabricated.
Israeli Intelligence Warned of Possible Missile Attack
According to sources cited by Middle East Eye, the intelligence warning originated with Israel and indicated that Iranian covert operatives could attempt to attack Air Force One while the president was preparing to depart Ankara.
The alleged plan involved the possible use of shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, commonly known as MANPADS, fired from approximately one kilometer away.
Middle East Eye and the Wall Street Journal reportedly identified Israel as the source of the intelligence. The Washington Post, which reported Monday, Aug. 10, on the security measures taken by U.S. officials, did not identify Israel as the source.
A separate July report cited by Middle East Eye said Israel had provided Washington with new intelligence indicating that Iran was considering an assassination attempt against Trump.
Trump subsequently said, “They want to take out the U.S. leader – me.”
American officials apparently considered the threat serious enough to alter the president’s departure arrangements from Turkey.
According to The Washington Post, the Secret Service moved Trump’s departure from Ankara Airport to Esenboga Airport and arranged multiple aircraft transfers intended to obscure which plane was actually carrying the president.
Trump had arrived in Ankara aboard a newer version of Air Force One that had been donated by Qatar.
For the departure, however, Trump publicly appeared to board an older Air Force One aircraft, according to the report.
The president was then secretly transferred to a third aircraft, an Air Force C-32A, using a catering truck as part of the security operation.
A U.S. official cited by The Washington Post said Trump boarded an Air Force One aircraft in Ankara on July 8 before moving into a catering container connected to the plane.
White House personnel and members of the press remained aboard the older Air Force One and traveled to the United Kingdom believing the president was with them, according to the reports.
That effectively turned the aircraft carrying staff and journalists into an unintentional decoy while Trump departed separately.
Turkish Officials Say Evidence Did Not Support the Warning
Turkish authorities nevertheless reportedly came away unconvinced that an Iranian assassination operation actually existed.
One source familiar with the situation told Middle East Eye that Turkish officials cooperated fully with American security officials after learning of the intelligence.
“Of course, we took the report very seriously and tried to assist our American counterparts as much as possible,” the source said.
The source added, “Yet it was very clear to us that there was no way this report was true.”
According to Middle East Eye, Turkish officials said they had not found credible evidence demonstrating that Iranian forces were preparing to attack Trump during the NATO summit.
Their skepticism was also reportedly heightened because Israeli intelligence had not shared the purported threat with Turkish authorities beforehand, despite the alleged operation being planned on Turkish territory.
The Washington Post cited an anonymous U.S. official who characterized the intelligence as involving an assassination threat originating from Iran.
The conflicting assessments leave unanswered whether U.S. and Turkish officials simply reached different conclusions about the same intelligence or whether the information itself was unreliable.
Ankara Suspects Political Motives
Some Turkish officials believe the alleged assassination intelligence may have served broader Israeli political objectives.
According to Middle East Eye, officials suspect Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government wanted to create the impression that Israeli intelligence had protected Trump from an Iranian assassination attempt.
The officials also reportedly believe such a scenario could damage prospects for renewed diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.
Another possible objective cited by Turkish sources was weakening Trump’s relationship with Erdogan.
Trump repeatedly praised the Turkish president during the NATO summit, and relations between Washington and Ankara have taken on added significance amid discussions over defense cooperation and regional security.
An Ankara insider cited by Middle East Eye questioned why details of the president’s secret security arrangements emerged approximately one month after the summit.
“I guess they need heroes for an attack that never happened and, most likely, was never planned,” the insider said.
The Turkish suspicions emerge against a larger backdrop of disagreement over Israel, Iran and the direction of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said in May that Israel had spent decades attempting to draw the United States into military conflict with Iran.
That contention is separate from the specific allegations surrounding the Trump assassination warning but forms part of the political context cited by critics questioning Israeli motives.
Turkey and Israel Already at Odds
The intelligence controversy comes amid substantial tensions between Ankara and Jerusalem.
Israel has opposed the prospective sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, while Trump has said he is strongly considering allowing such a transaction.
Turkey, meanwhile, has sharply escalated its criticism of Netanyahu and Israeli military policy.
In April 2026, the Turkish government formally accused Netanyahu of war crimes and issued a statement referring to the Israeli leader as the “Hitler of our time.”
Ankara has also sought greater independence in defense policy as regional tensions have intensified.
Separately, Israel’s deployment of a Barak MX air defense system to Cyprus has raised concern in Turkey about Israeli military and intelligence capabilities operating close to Turkish territory.
Those disagreements have contributed to an increasingly complicated relationship involving Turkey, Israel and the United States as Washington simultaneously manages the war with Iran and attempts at diplomacy with Tehran.
Intelligence Claims Remain Contested
The allegation that Israel manufactured an Iranian assassination plot remains a suspicion attributed to Turkish officials, not an independently established fact.
Intelligence operations historically have included deception, disinformation and the selective use of intercepted communications, while governments have also used intelligence assessments to influence policy decisions. Those broader historical examples do not establish what happened in the Ankara episode.
What is known from the reports is that American security officials responded to an alleged Iranian threat with unusually elaborate measures to protect Trump and conceal his actual departure aircraft.
Turkish officials, however, reportedly concluded that the information available to them did not demonstrate that such an attack was genuinely being prepared.
The dispute became more consequential after details of the alleged plot became public.
According to Middle East Eye, Trump subsequently threatened Iran with overwhelming military retaliation if an assassination attempt were carried out.
Trump has previously acknowledged that he believes Tehran has targeted him.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time,” Trump said.
He has also said he left instructions that Iran should face bombing if it successfully assassinated him.
Those comments underscore the potential consequences of intelligence alleging an Iranian attempt on the president’s life, particularly while Washington and Tehran remain engaged in efforts to determine whether diplomacy can resume.
For Turkish officials who question the intelligence, that potential effect is central to their suspicions: an alleged Iranian assassination plot could make further negotiations politically more difficult while increasing pressure on Trump to confront Tehran.
No evidence included in the reports conclusively establishes that Israel fabricated the threat, just as the material described does not publicly establish that Iran actually prepared the alleged operation.
Until further intelligence or evidence is released, the episode remains a contested matter involving sharply different assessments by governments whose strategic interests increasingly diverge over Iran, Israel and the future of regional diplomacy.
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