President Donald Trump was reportedly smuggled off Air Force One in a catering truck last month as part of an elaborate ruse to foil potential Iranian assassination threats.

The commander-in-chief was on his way back from a NATO summit in Turkey when he was bundled off the jet and boarded on to a separate military plane, The New York Times reports.  

Trump had traveled to Turkey aboard a new 747-8 donated by Qatari officials, which the Trump administration has spent vast sums of money improving for security.

But as the summit concluded, Trump announced he would not take the newly outfitted plane and would instead board an older model rather than the plane that flew him there for 'old time's sake'. 

However, officials familiar with the reported ruse told The NY Times that Trump covertly entered a food cart that had been fitted to the belly of the plane amid threats from Iranian officials.

His food cart was then loaded on to an airport catering truck, which transported him to a smaller Air Force C-32A plane, according to the Washington Post.

The plot reportedly fooled journalists and even some White House staffers who were aboard the 'decoy' Air Force One flight. 

In video from the tarmac obtained by the Post, Trump could be seen waving to the cameras as he heads into the older plane, before a truck is seen maneuvering towards the steps of the new C-32A. 

The video shows a man in a suit entering the catering truck's cab. A container is then loaded into the bed of the vehicle and pulls away from the old Air Force One.

The container had notably been lifted to the level of the plane for several minutes.

When the container was lowered, a person in a suit stepped out of the truck's cab, which remained at ground level and ascended the stairs leading up to the nearby C-32A.

Moments later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was seen boarding the C-32A separately using regular stairs as part of an apparent attempt to make the flight appear typical. 

Journalists who boarded the old Air Force One plane, believing the president aboard, were instructed to close their window shades.

The plane carrying the journalists took on the Air Traffic Control sign 'Air Force One', which is technically only meant for any plane on which the president is onboard.

Meanwhile, the C-32A flight Trump and Hegseth were on used the call sign 'Reach 18' or 'RCH18,' according to the Washington Post. 

Such 'Reach' signs are typically used for personnel transport flights and those that haul military equipment.

After the two planes then landed in the UK, Trump was apparently smuggled from the C-32A to the legacy Air Force One jet and was seen descending external stairs. 

From there, Trump embarked on the Qatari-donated plane to travel back to Washington with the White House press pool.

Onboard that aircraft, the president spoke to journalists for about 15 minutes highlighting the threat that Iran poses.

When asked why reporters were ordered to lower their window shades on the plane in Turkey, Trump said it was 'because you're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with'.

He then added he has a 'threat all the time' on his life and that he is 'number one' on Iran's 'list'.

Tehran has been vocal in its threats and last week a massive, custom-made banner featuring caricature of Trump centered under a large, blood-red painted 'bullseye' scope was seen dominating Tajrish Square in the capital, according to photos exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail.

Below the image of the targeted President, in large crimson English capital letters, is the chilling phrase: 'There will be blood.'

Iranian media has also threatened to go after First Lady Melania Trump and Barron Trump, with a recent AI-generated video highlighting the locations the First Lady likes to shop and how would-be assassins could target her. 

The report on Trump's escape comes weeks after White House communications director Steven Cheung first suggested administration officials engaged in subterfuge as Trump was departing the summit.

'As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him and we use every tool at our disposal - including distraction and misdirection - to address those threats,' Cheung previously told The NY Times. 

The statement suggests administration officials viewed the Iranian threat as credible, taking extreme precautions to ensure the president's safety amid renewed military strikes on Iran.

But the threats were not directed at the Qatari-donated jet itself, Cheung noted as he denied that the plane posed a security risk. 

'The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,' he said in a statement to the Washington Post.

The White House also released a statement insisting that the Qatari-donated aircraft is 'secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet requirements of the presidential mission.'

'Those requirements were carefully created to prioritize mission over aesthetics, leaving much of the previous head of state interior layout minimally changed,' the Air Force said in the statement to the Washington Post.

'No risk was taken in security, safety or mission communications, but the collective team made trads on some of the less-commonly used mission sets that Boeing must deliver to support the next 40 years,' it added.

However Trump has admitted that the plane needs security improvements, saying the plane has been temporarily taken out of commission to be 'maxed out' and that it could get enhanced defensive capabilities to fall in line with the other fleets used for travel. 

The president said the upgrades should take roughly a month – but did not specify which upgrades would be taking place. 

His remarks came after The Times reported that new jet is missing the vital defensive countermeasures equipped on older models, leaving it completely without antimissile capabilities.

The Trump administration seemingly retaliated a day after the story originally as FBI agents descended on the Times reporters, delivering them subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury. 

'The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,' David McCraw, The NY Times' top newsroom lawyer said in a statement at the time.

'Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public's right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,' he continued.

'This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.'

The Department of Justice has since withdrawn the subpoenas after a federal judge grilled its lawyers on whether they had followed the laws in obtaining them.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House and the Department of Defense for comment.