Iranian state media have mocked US President Donald Trump after new details emerged about his secret transfer between planes during his visit to Turkey, Reuters reports.
They said the incident showed how worried the US leader is about the power of the Islamic Republic.
"Again, Trump, with his new scandal, has become a major topic in the US media in recent days. A scandal born of fear of Iran's military power - a power that last month led Trump, while returning from Turkey, to secretly change planes," said a presenter on Iranian state television. He added that the incident had become a source of "humiliation" for Trump.
A threat that Air Force One could be targeted with a portable missile prompted the Secret Service to secretly transfer Trump to a smaller government plane, a person familiar with the matter said.
The threat came on the last day of Trump's visit to Ankara for a NATO summit, the source said, amid heightened tensions over the ongoing U.S. war with Iran. The Secret Service deemed the threat credible and imminent, prompting an emergency operation to cover up the president's movements.
"The New York Times" reported that U.S. officials were alarmed after learning that the Iranians knew where Trump was staying in Ankara, including the exact floor of his hotel room.
Tehran has not commented officially on the allegations or the change of plane.
Billboards and murals in Tehran have targeted the U.S. president and Israel, depicting Trump in various guises—from lying in a coffin to drowning at sea.
Last month, the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed revenge for the death of his father and predecessor, who was killed on the first day of the war.
Trump and a small group of his advisers used a catering truck to transfer from the large blue-and-white presidential plane to a smaller, nondescript C-32A as they departed from Turkey on July 8. Meanwhile, Air Force One flew separately, carrying senior administration officials, White House officials and journalists.
The Iranian embassy in South Africa wrote on X that Trump "will soon be hidden in a trash can". The post was accompanied by a meme depicting Trump in a catering box full of food.
This X account often attracts a lot of attention with the memes it posts on social media — something that Iranian state media has also reported.
"The Washington Post" first reported details of the plane swap operation.
In 2024, the US Department of Justice charged an Iranian in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Donald Trump, which US authorities say was ordered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps when Trump was still the newly elected US president.
Tehran denied these charges in September 2024.