The FBI has warned law enforcement in California that Iran could launch drones towards the West Coast in retaliation for American attacks.
ABC News reported that the bureau received information that Iran was determining if it could launch a surprise attack on western coastal cities. The report stated that it “aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran.”
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The FBI said it had “no additional information on the timing, method, target or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in an interview that the FBI had previously disclosed the report to him, and that he had activated the state emergency operations center after the war began.
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Gov. Newsom says he’s been aware of apparent threat of Iranian drone strikes on California.
He says he activated the state emergency operations center when war started.
“Drone issues have always been top of mind,” he says. pic.twitter.com/1yfNMnjhHh
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) March 11, 2026
Responding to the story on X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said ABC wrote it “based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip.”
“The email even states the tip was based on *unverified* intelligence,” Leavitt wrote. “Yet ABC News left out this critical fact in their story! WHY? TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did.”
In an updated version of the article, ABC noted that the FBI later posted a fuller version of the alert, which included that the information was unverified. The outlet included the full FBI alert in the story.
Iran has used its Shahed drones to strike several countries following the U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran. Since the drones are cheap, slow and fly in swarms, they can overwhelm traditional missile defense systems and hit their targets.
There are dozens of reports of Iranian drones slipping through air defense systems and striking buildings, including civilian infrastructure.
Russia has purchased thousands of these drones in its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has begun producing its Shahed drones inside its country and remains a close ally with Iran. The country has also shared information with Iran about U.S. military targets.
Ukraine has sent experts specializing in neutralizing Shahed and other smaller, unconventional drones to the Middle East to teach the U.S. military techniques.
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Iran does have relationships with a few Latin American countries, which has worried U.S. military officials. Venezuela had the most impactful relationship, with the two countries signing a 20-year cooperation agreement in 2022. The agreement covers defense and intelligence, which has allowed Venezuela to produce drones similar to Iran’s Shahed, according to reports. However, since the U.S. military operation in Venezuela earlier this year, it’s unclear what remains of the agreement.
The U.S. has also grown concerned about the expansion of Mexican drug cartels’ use of drones near the southern border, ABC News reports. They worry the technology could be used in attacks on American military bases and personnel.