PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A day after sounding the alarm over an alleged Iranian covert drone plot targeting California, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reporting that the information they received about the plot was unverified.

In late February, the FBI shared with California police departments intelligence suggesting Iranian officials had discussed deploying unmanned aerial vehicles from a ship positioned off the U.S. coastline. The warning stated that the plan could involve striking unspecified locations in California if the United States carried out military operations against Iran.

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“We recently acquired unverified information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event the U.S. conducted strikes against Iran,” according to the alert distributed at the end of February. “We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”

The warning followed the US and Israel’s military action in Iran, but information about Iran’s aspirations to launch a drone attack on the West Coast preceded the war.

“We’ve been aware of that information. … It’s all about a posture of preparedness for worst-case scenarios,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom told the Associated Press.

After the warning was issued California, KATU News reached out to the FBI field office in Portland to ask if Oregon is facing a similar threat or if any additional precautions are being taken. A spokesperson responded with the following statement.

“The FBI is coordinating closely with all governmental partners regarding the unvetted reporting regarding UAVs targeting the coast of California. The FBI, in coordination with other partners, now assess that there is not a threat at this time from this reporting. The FBI will continue to evaluate all threats and pass updates to partners as appropriate.”