The US president says he is ‘number one on the kill list for Iran’, amid speculation over aircraft switch for flight to UK
Britain and other allies “just had a bad moment” in not joining the US in the war against Iran, Donald Trump has said.
However, while repeating his criticism of the UK over the conflict, the president struck a more conciliatory note, speaking at the end of the Nato summit in Turkey.
Speaking at a news conference, Mr Trump stressed there had been “unification” at the leaders’ meeting in Ankara – and that there had been “tremendous love in that room”.
The American leader also revealed he was “number one on the kill list for Iran”, having faced threats from Tehran even before the recent conflict.
It came amid speculation that security concerns were behind the decision for Mr Trump switching planes on the return journey and to fly from Turkey to Britain on an older Air Force One aircraft rather than the new presidential jet donated by Qatar.
The trip to Ankara was the first international trip for the new plane.
Mr Trump had said on Truth Social that he would use an older Air Force One plane “for old time’s sake” to fly to RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, while the new plane visits the same US airbase to allow service personnel stationed there to tour the plane.
Mildenhall is a main refuelling station for military and VIP aircraft.
The president has previously lambasted Britain and other Nato members over their response to the Middle East war, which had further fuelled tensions and led the president to openly question the commitment to the long-standing alliance.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had refused to give the US free rein in its use of UK military bases to carry out attacks against Iran, with permission limited to defensive strikes on missile sites.
Washington had also scorned a planned UK and French-led mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz waterway once hostilities ended.
But tempering his remarks Mr Trump said: “Almost all of the countries have been good. They just had a bad moment. They didn’t help us. We didn’t need the help, but if we would have wanted the help.”
He said he did not like the response by allies that they “would rather remain on the sidelines”.
Mr Trump added: “The UK gave an answer that was sort of weirder than that. I said ‘Would you like to help?’ They said ‘We do, but we want to wait till the war is over’. This was not in the spirit of Winston Churchill.”
But referring to the summit, he added: “I can only say if there’s one word that comes out of today, it’s unification. I’ve never seen anything like it. Every one of those countries, they love us, they love each other. That was tremendous unification.”
This chimed with remarks by the Prime Minister, who said Nato was “stronger and more united” following the summit.
Mr Trump also warned he may be assassinated by Iran as he is the regime’s “number one target”.
He had earlier threatened to carry out further strikes against Iran after declaring the interim ceasefire over following renewed clashes and the US might “just finish the job”.
Highlighting the number of Iranian leaders killed in the conflict, Mr Trump said: “And you know what? I may be gone too, because I’m their number one target. I’m their number one because they’re scum. That’s the way they act, and that’s the way they’ve done it for 47 years.”
The Justice Department in 2024 announced that an Iranian plot to kill Mr Trump before the presidential election had been thwarted.
When asked if security concerns played a role in him changing planes for the flight home, Mr Trump did not directly answer.
He said: “It’s a very dangerous profession. I’m number one on the kill list for Iran.
“I don’t really care, because I’m doing my job, and I’m doing it, I hope, better than anybody’s ever done it, because we have a country that’s hot and really, really successful.
“But I mentioned it only because it’s on the list.
“I like being number one on TikTok better, but I’m number one on the list for killing.”
When pressed over the plane swap, he said it was “so the soldiers can see it, because it’s truly magnificent”.
Pictures of the jet taken since its unveiling show it is not equipped with some of the same missile-detection and countermeasure systems as the older aircraft.
A second aircraft that can operate as Air Force One is always on standby during presidential trips.
