Inside ‘Operation Ghost Flight’ to save Don’s life after US rumble Iran plot to shoot down Trump Force One with missiles

Inside ‘Operation Ghost Flight’ to save Don’s life after US rumble Iran plot to shoot down Trump Force One with missiles
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Inside ‘Operation Ghost Flight’ to save Don’s life after US rumble Iran plot to shoot down Trump Force One with missiles
Author: James Halpin
Published: Feb, 11 2025 16:51

DONALD Trump's team feared for his safety so much during the campaign they launched a decoy plane to rumble Trump Force One being shot down with missiles. The nominee's life was in danger after Iran launched a plot to kill him in revenge for his slaying of senior general Qasem Soleimani in 2020. It was revealed in November, that an Iranian agent had been charged with plotting to kill Trump in an assassination that would have shaken the world.

 [Donald Trump at a campaign rally, appearing injured, surrounded by Secret Service agents.]
Image Credit: The Sun [Donald Trump at a campaign rally, appearing injured, surrounded by Secret Service agents.]

A new book - Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power by Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt - has revealed the extraordinary new details the Republican's team went to to protect him from the Ayatollah's other plots. Fears were magnified after the assassination attempts against Trump in Pennsylvania and at his Mar-a-Lago compound in Florida during the campaign. Trump's security team became worried the President's famous dark blue and red Trump Force One jet would be an easily recognizable target, according to Isenstadt.

 [Illustration showing Trump's travel security measures, including decoy planes and motorcades, due to fears of Iranian assassins.]
Image Credit: The Sun [Illustration showing Trump's travel security measures, including decoy planes and motorcades, due to fears of Iranian assassins.]

And they were even warned that Iranian operatives inside the US had access to surface-to-air missiles. His team became so worried about Trump being shot out of the sky as the plane took off or came into land, that on one occasion they had him travel on a decoy plane supplied by a billionaire pal while the rest of his team travelled on Trump Force One. That day, soon after the September 15 attempt on his life, aides were left fuming after they feared they would be "collateral damage".

 [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps soldiers marching in formation with rifles.]
Image Credit: The Sun [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps soldiers marching in formation with rifles.]

Chris LaCivita, a senior advisor to Trump's campaign, told staffers on the plane "the boss" was not riding with them that day. He said: "We had to put him into another plane. This is nothing but a sort of test for how things may happen in the future.". But campaign leaders had to assure the staffers that they weren't being used as bait. Once on the ground, Trump was driven around in a decoy motorcade with Trump in one and staffers in another.

 [Silhouette of soldier firing rocket-propelled grenade.]
Image Credit: The Sun [Silhouette of soldier firing rocket-propelled grenade.]

At a September 18 rally on Long Island, NY, the Secret Service warned campaign leaders they had intelligence someone might be looking to shoot up the motorcade. LaCivita told one staffer: "Don't f****** hang out the window and take photos, because you're a f****** target.". During a trip to Pennsylvania the next week, the motorcade was followed by a drone prompting officers to shoot it with an electromagnetic gun.

 [Mandatory Credit: Photo by REX/Shutterstock (7553714e) United States President-elect Donald Trump's plane, a Boeing 757-200, departs from LaGuardia Airport en route to Ohio for an event in New York. Donald Trump departs from LaGuardia Airport, New York, USA - 08 Dec 2016]
Image Credit: The Sun [Mandatory Credit: Photo by REX/Shutterstock (7553714e) United States President-elect Donald Trump's plane, a Boeing 757-200, departs from LaGuardia Airport en route to Ohio for an event in New York. Donald Trump departs from LaGuardia Airport, New York, USA - 08 Dec 2016]

Trump often boasted about killing Soleimani at rallies - but Isenstadt reports Trump became privately worried about the possibility of the threat to his life . Days after taking office for a second time, Trump revealed he had given his team strict instructions to completely obliterate Iran if they ever assassinated him. He said: "I've left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated, there won't be anything left.".

 [MADRID, SPAIN - JUNE 28: US President Joe Biden, inside his vehicle 'The Beast', on his departure from Torrejon de Ardoz air base, on 28 June, 2022 in Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain. Biden has arrived in Spain in his Air Force One aircraft, shielded even against a nuclear explosion and capable of refueling from the air. When Biden lands, he will board 'The Beast', his presidential limousine and the safest car in the world, with 20-centimeter thick armor, equipped with firearms and blood transfusion bags. The limousine is accompanied by a caravan of 50 vehicles. The National Police and the Civil Guard will escort the motorcades at all times for the NATO summit, which officially begins tomorrow in Madrid, the 40th anniversary of Spain's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Biden's objective at the NATO summit is to reaffirm ''the strong bilateral relationship'' between the two countries. (Photo By EUROPA PRESS/A.Ortega.POOL via Getty Images)]
Image Credit: The Sun [MADRID, SPAIN - JUNE 28: US President Joe Biden, inside his vehicle 'The Beast', on his departure from Torrejon de Ardoz air base, on 28 June, 2022 in Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain. Biden has arrived in Spain in his Air Force One aircraft, shielded even against a nuclear explosion and capable of refueling from the air. When Biden lands, he will board 'The Beast', his presidential limousine and the safest car in the world, with 20-centimeter thick armor, equipped with firearms and blood transfusion bags. The limousine is accompanied by a caravan of 50 vehicles. The National Police and the Civil Guard will escort the motorcades at all times for the NATO summit, which officially begins tomorrow in Madrid, the 40th anniversary of Spain's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Biden's objective at the NATO summit is to reaffirm ''the strong bilateral relationship'' between the two countries. (Photo By EUROPA PRESS/A.Ortega.POOL via Getty Images)]

The US President also signed an executive order calling for his government to impose serious pressure on Tehran. He later moderated by saying he wanted a "verified nuclear peace agreement" with the country. Trump posted on social media in September saying there were "big threats" on his life by Iran. He said that US military was watching and waiting and Iran had already "made moves" which had failed. Trump said: "I am surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before.

 [Screenshot of Donald Trump's tweet about threats on his life from Iran.]
Image Credit: The Sun [Screenshot of Donald Trump's tweet about threats on his life from Iran.]

"An attack on a former President is a Death Wish for the attacker!". IN NOVEMBER, an Iranian agent was charged with plotting to kill Donald Trump in an assassination that would have shaken the world. US prosecutors say the rogue state told ex-con Farhad Shakeri — said to be hiding in Tehran — to devise a seven-day plan to spy on and murder him. Afghan national Shakeri came to the US as a child and served 14 years for a robbery before he was deported in 2008.

 [Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Quds Force, at a meeting.]
Image Credit: The Sun [Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Quds Force, at a meeting.]

The US government said Shakeri is believed to be in Tehran, though he has spoken five times to the FBI over the phone. In a complaint filed in New York prosecutors said an official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard told Shakeri to devise a plan to eliminate the President elect. The Justice Department also charged two US men allegedly recruited to kill a journalist. The pair — Carlisle Rivera, also known as “Pop”, 49, of Brooklyn, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, of Staten Island­ — knew Shakeri from prison.

The FBI released images of seized weapons. Its chief Christopher Wray said: “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been conspiring with criminals and hitmen to target and gun down Americans on US soil, and that simply won’t be tolerated. Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, their deadly schemes were disrupted.”. Trump’s staff requested unprecedented levels of extra security including a ballistic glass shield at rallies in swing states.

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