Trump's secret plane swap highlights personal stakes of Iran war - BBC News

It marks another striking episode in the turbulent history of his relationship with Iran, writes the BBC's Anthony Zurcher.

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Watch: President Trump secretly switches planes to avoid Iran threat

North America correspondentPublished12 August 2026, 01:14 BST"I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well, I got him first."

That was President Donald Trump's observation, made to ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl, in a phone conversation the day after he launched the US military campaign against Iran in February.

An Israeli airstrike, conducted with US approval and co-ordination, had just killed the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian leaders – and Trump drew a direct line from that attack to threats and alleged plots the Iranians had made against him in previous years.