© The Associated Press | Luis M. Alvarez

President Trump engaged in an elaborate ruse last month as he faced a threat against his life from Iran, leaving a summit in Turkey via military jet while making it appear he was with reporters and aides on an older version of Air Force One.

The deception, a highly unusual case where the press traveling with Trump was misled about his whereabouts, was done because of the seriousness of the threats against the president, according to published reports Monday in The Washington Post, which first reported the account, and The New York Times.

It had been known that Trump had traveled aboard an older version of Air Force One from Turkey to Great Britain, and not a newer version of the presidential plane gifted to him by Qatar. That step had reportedly been taken to protect the president.

But the new accounts detail a much deeper plan, apparently made on the fly as Trump faced the serious threat.

Trump was seen boarding the old Air Force One jet upon returning from the NATO summit in Ankara early last month. But the Post reported that Trump was secretly shuttled to a smaller plane through an airport catering truck usually used to load metals and other supplies before a flight.

The smaller plane was an Air Force C-32A.

A U.S. official told the outlet that Air Force One, which had members of the media and White House staff on board, was a “decoy.”

The operation was kept hidden from journalists and some staff who believed they were on the same plane as the president.

The White House has for weeks maintained that Trump left the NATO summit on the old Air Force One before the president started using the Qatari jet, which he received in June.

Concerns arose about the security features of the jet as reports indicated that the Secret Service advised Trump to use alternate means to leave the summit.

White House communications director Steven Cheung defended the Qatari jet in a statement to the Post saying it has been “fitted with high-level security protocols” ensuring the president’s safety.

“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 to address those threats,” Cheung said.

The secret departure from the summit came just after the U.S. renewed military strikes on Iran as negotiations broke down.

The official told the Post that a credible threat to Trump set the “deception operation” in motion.

Another official said Air Force One has served as a decoy before in the past 30 years because of a serious threat or he was flying to a dangerous location.