{"id":216778,"date":"2026-03-12T18:19:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/216778\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T18:19:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:19:13","slug":"fbi-iran-california-attack-white-house-gives-update-on-drone-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/216778\/","title":{"rendered":"FBI Iran California Attack: White House Gives Update on Drone Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

The White House<\/a> provided an update on an FBI<\/a> alert that warned California<\/a> law enforcement about the potential for an Iranian drone attack amid the ongoing Middle East conflict<\/a>.<\/p>\n

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt<\/a> wrote in a post to X that an ABC News<\/a> story about the alert provided \u201cfalse information\u201d and “no such threat from Iran<\/a> to our homeland exists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/p>\n

The memo followed U.S. and Israel strikes launched against Iran on February 28 after\u00a0failed talks between the U.S. and Iran<\/a>\u00a0to address Iran\u2019s nuclear program, sending the Middle East<\/a> into a conflict that has widened. U.S. and Israeli strikes have killed more than\u00a01,300 people\u00a0in Iran, which has\u00a0launched retaliatory strikes<\/a>\u00a0on Israel and Gulf Arab allies hosting U.S. forces, including bases in Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.<\/p>\n

\"\"What To Know<\/p>\n

Leavitt disputed the ABC News report about the FBI memo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis post and story should be immediately retracted by ABC News for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people,” she wrote. “They wrote this 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. Yet ABC News left out this critical fact in their story! WHY?\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cNo such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did.\u201d<\/p>\n

The FBI alert noted that the information was \u201cunverified,\u201d FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson wrote on the platform.<\/p>\n

The alert said the FBI obtained information indicating that, as of early February, Iran allegedly considered launching unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the U.S. coast, specifically targeting California. The bulletin emphasized that authorities had no additional details on the timing, targets, methods or perpetrators and described the information as uncorroborated, ABC News reported.<\/p>\n

However, it provided few details about what such an attack might look like, ABC News reported.<\/p>\n

California Officials Responded to Alert<\/p>\n

California officials previously responded to the alert to Newsweek.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for California\u2019s Office of Emergency Services said \u00a0its Homeland Security team is \u201cin regular coordination with federal, state and local partners, sharing information on potential threats as part of ongoing security efforts\u201d and that this sort of coordination \u201chappens every day to keep people safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cCalifornia is prepared to protect its communities, and we\u2019ll continue working closely with our federal partners, including the FBI, who is best positioned to speak to any specific intelligence,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was \u201cnot aware of any imminent threats<\/a> at this time, we remain prepared for any emergency in our state\u201d in a post to X.<\/p>\n

Later Wednesday, President Donald Trump told reporters that the bulletin was “being investigated.” He added: “You have a lot of things happening and all we can do is take them as they come.”<\/p>\n

Could Iran Attack California?<\/p>\n

Leavitt said Thursday there is no threat to California or the U.S.<\/p>\n

The widening conflict has fueled concerns that Iran, which the U.S. classified as a state sponsor of\u00a0terrorism<\/a>\u00a0in 1984, retaliate against the strikes. Concerns about retaliation have centered around cyberattacks and sleeper-cell attacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last August, Iranian lawmaker Amir Hayat-Moqaddam said in a warning to the U.S. that\u00a0Iranian naval vessels could move close enough to American land<\/a>\u00a0to place it in striking range.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement agencies\u00a0earlier received a federal alert<\/a>\u00a0that the government intercepted an encrypted transmission believed to have originated in Iran that may serve as an \u201coperational trigger\u201d for \u201csleeper assets\u201d outside the country, according to ABC News.<\/p>\n

The advisory reportedly told agencies to increase monitoring of suspicious radio-frequency activity and emphasized situational awareness while underscoring that authorities did not identify a specific operational threat or target.<\/p>\n

A Council on Foreign Relations report published on March 5 by fellow Bruce Hoffman found that \u201csleeper agents, lone actors inspired and motivated by Iran, cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure, and physical attacks on critical infrastructure\u201d as the\u00a0war<\/a>\u00a0continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran and its terrorist client, Hezbollah, have long had sophisticated cyber capabilities. In May 2014, Iran\u2019s ‘charming kitten’ cyber operation targeted a variety of U.S. institutions and individuals, and its capabilities have likely improved since then,\u201d Hoffman wrote.<\/p>\n

CSIS said in its most recent update published on March 3 that Iran has \u201cnot yet tested or deployed a missile capable of striking the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why Did the US, Israel Attack Iran?<\/p>\n

Trump said the strikes were intended to crush Iran\u2019s\u00a0nuclear<\/a>\u00a0and missile capabilities and urged Iranians to overthrow their leaders once the operation ends, telling them to \u201ctake over your government.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0speech announcing the attack<\/a>, Trump said: “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian\u00a0regime…Its menacing activities directly endanger\u00a0the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration,\u00a0that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I’ll say it again: They can never\u00a0have a nuclear weapon. That is why, in\u00a0Operation Midnight Hammer<\/a>\u00a0last June,\u00a0we obliterated the regime’s nuclear program at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.\u201d<\/p>\n

He warned Iranians that \u201cit\u2019s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere,\u201d but once the operation is finished, \u201ctake over your government. It will be yours to take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran has repeatedly denied pursuing a nuclear weapon and had engaged in diplomatic talks with the U.S. only days earlier to prevent\u00a0military\u00a0conflict.<\/p>\n

Trump previously called for regime change in Iran. The U.S. launched strikes against Iran in June 2025, damaging three major nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. The president also referenced Iran\u2019s recent bloody crackdown on protesters in the country in his speech: \u201cIran is the world’s number one state sponsor of\u00a0terror and just recently killed tens of\u00a0thousands of its own citizens on the street as they\u00a0protested<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Defense Intelligence Agency’s 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment report concluded that Iran had not been producing a nuclear weapon but has \u201cundertaken activities in recent years that better position it to produce them, if it chooses to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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