On Tuesday night, spectacular details were published about Trump's return from the NATO summit in the Turkish capital Ankara in July.
The president boarded the scheduled Air Force One plane, an older model, but was then smuggled onto an alternative plane in a catering van after reports of an Iranian threat against him, The Washington Post reports.
Journalists and White House staff remained on board, believing the president was still with them, according to the newspaper.
“Talk about escalation”
Aron Lund, Middle East analyst at the Swedish National Defence Research Institute (FOI), thinks it sounds unlikely that Iran would dare to assassinate the president.
"Talk about escalation," he says of the idea of such a scenario.
Are there signs that Iran was planning to kill Trump?
Of course, there is a certain symmetry in the US assassinating Iran's supreme leader, since Trump is the US counterpart. But I think it sounds like a big step to take.
How do you assess the veracity of the information about the murder plan?
I can't judge that. But it's hard to see why the US would act in this way if it didn't believe there was a risk. You don't make Trump look strong and powerful by sneaking out the back door.
Long history
Iran's intelligence service is feared around the world, but little is known about the attacks it has actually carried out. However, it is known that the Iranian regime had a hand in the killing of two CIA chiefs in the 1980s, according to the CIA.
"Iran has been heavily involved in various types of covert operations, primarily in the Middle East. They have been directed both at the US and Israel and at various Arab governments and opponents," says Lund, adding that the operations include political assassinations.
They have also acted through allied movements, including Hezbollah.
In September last year, Swedish-Iranian Iran expert Arvin Khoshnood was the target of an assassination attempt in Malmö. In May this year, three teenagers were convicted of planning the murder. Khoshnood himself has said that the assassination attempt had “very clear connections to the Iranian regime.”
