Governor Gavin Newsom has minimized the warning, stating he is “not aware of any imminent threats at this time”
The FBI has notified California officials of a potential Iranian plan to launch drone strikes from an anonymous ship positioned off the West Coast, as reported by US media outlets that reviewed the alert. Conversely, local authorities have questioned the credibility of the warning, labeling it unverified.
As reported by ABC News, the document was circulated to California agencies recently, with its details becoming public on Wednesday.
The bulletin cautioned that in early February, Iran “allegedly 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” should the US launch an attack against the nation.
The notification further noted that federal authorities “have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”
In response to the alert, California Governor Gavin Newsom stated he remains “in constant coordination with security and intelligence officials” regarding state threats, including those related to the Middle East conflict.
”While we are not aware of any imminent threats at this time, we remain prepared for any emergency in our state,” he posted on X.
Local officials speaking to CBS downplayed the significance of the memo, with one describing it as “not actionable” and another dismissing it as “unverified.”
“All this means is we got this information and we want to get it out to law enforcement executives to make sure they’re up to speed on it… There is absolutely nothing more to it,” a third CBS source remarked.
US President Donald Trump noted that the administration is looking into the report, while confirming he had received briefings regarding potential Iranian sleeper cells operating within the US.
The warning came in the wake of significant US and Israeli military strikes against Iran that began on February 28, which resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and sparked a regional conflict. Tehran subsequently responded with drone and missile attacks directed at Israel and US military installations in the Gulf.