…intelligence Alert exposes growing threat at NATO amidst US/IRAN standoff
By Stanley Asor
A last-minute switch of presidential aircraft has exposed a high-stakes intelligence warning that Iran was planning to assassinate Donald Trump during last week’s NATO summit in Ankara.
According to Israeli broadcaster Channel 12, the United States received a specific threat alert from a Western ally, prompting US security chiefs to transfer Trump from the newer Air Force One a Qatari-donated aircraft to an older, fully shielded model just before departure.
The incident underscores the fragility of presidential security even at allied gatherings, and the depth of Tehran’s enmity towards the US leader.
Speaking at a summit press conference, Trump acknowledged the persistent danger: “They want to eliminate the US leader me. I’m on every one of their lists. I’ve been fortunate so far, but you never know how long that luck lasts.”
The New York Times noted that the aircraft change was partly driven by Secret Service concerns that the Qatari plane lacked the full suite of protective systems available on the veteran Boeing. Journalists aboard were ordered to keep window shades drawn during takeoff an unusual measure that went unexplained at the time.
The reported assassination plot comes against a backdrop of mounting US-Iranian military exchanges around the Strait of Hormuz. Over the weekend, Tehran attacked a container ship off the Omani coast, prompting US Central Command to strike dozens of Iranian targets including air defence systems, radar installations, missile batteries, and small naval vessels.
Both Washington and Tehran have since claimed authority over the strategic waterway, through which a substantial portion of global oil and gas transits.
CENTCOM declared: “The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade. Iran does not control it.” The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps countered, insisting the strait lies within Iranian territorial waters and condemning “unlawful” US military intervention.
The confrontations are eroding a fragile 60-day interim agreement intended to open negotiations for a permanent settlement. With the midpoint approaching, repeated naval skirmishes have raised fears of a return to full-scale warfare.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that renewed conflict would be “devastating” for the region and beyond. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called for restoring free navigation, stressing that international shipping must not be held hostage.
For African observers, the standoff carries direct implications: any sustained disruption in the Gulf would hit energy-dependent economies hard, particularly in East and West Africa, while also complicating the maritime security partnerships that several coastal states have built with Western navies.
The Ankara intelligence leak, meanwhile, hints at deeper rifts within the US intelligence community and raises questions about how much warning African allies might receive if similar threats emerge closer to home.