U.S. officials told CBS News that American intelligence detected a credible plot by Iranian proxy forces to fire a missile at Air Force One as President Trump departed the 36th NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye on July 8, 2026 - first reported by The New York Times.
We break down why the Secret Service moved him off the $400 million Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 and onto the legacy VC-25A (tail numbers 28000 and 29000), what the older aircraft’s defensive suite actually does, why a fighter escort would not have stopped this specific threat, and how the IRGC Quds Force Special External Operations Unit runs plots like this through proxies.
Plus the full theater SITREP: Aramco’s Jazan refinery shut down after Houthi strikes, a Greek-crewed Patriot battery intercepting 2 ballistic missiles at Yanbu, 3 weeks of coalition drone intercepts over Erbil, and CENTCOM’s 4th day without strikes.
Round up: a Romanian F-16 downs a third drone in three days over the Black Sea.
