FBI Warns California Law Enforcement of Potential Iran Drone Attacks

Federal authorities have reportedly warned California law enforcement agencies that Iran may be considering a retaliatory drone attack against the U.S. West Coast in retaliation to the strikes carried out on Iran by Israel and the United States.

According to reporting from ABC News, the FBI alert, distributed to police departments at the end of February, said “We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, 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, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran.”

The alert ended with the FBI stating that they “have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.” ABC reported that neither the White House nor the FBI Office in Los Angeles replied for comment. However, California Governor Gavin Newsom‘s office told ABC that “The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is actively working with state, local and federal security officials to protect our communities.”

The warning surfaced publicly as the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran continued to deepen. President Donald Trump said on March 11 that he was not worried about Iran-backed attacks on U.S. soil, even as the FBI bulletin raised fresh concerns inside law enforcement circles.

Since the U.S. and Israel carried out strikes on Iran, Tehran has since responded with retaliatory attacks in the region. Against that backdrop, the California warning has drawn heightened attention because it suggests U.S. officials are considering that retaliation may not remain confined to the Middle East.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Oakland police said they had spoken with federal partners and were told there may be a heightened risk because of the Middle East conflict. The department said it is maintaining close contact with local, state, and federal law enforcement to protect the community.

Reuters reported that a Department of Homeland Security threat assessment concluded that Iran and its proxies probably pose a threat of targeted attacks on the United States, but that a large-scale physical assault is considered unlikely.

That does not eliminate the possibility of smaller, asymmetric actions, including the use of drones, which have become a central feature of modern conflict and offer hostile actors a comparatively low-cost, hard-to-detect way to project force. The concern is serious enough that the FBI chose to circulate it to California police, but the public record so far still stops well short of proving an active strike plan.

ABC also reported that U.S. intelligence officials are reportedly concerned about an attack on California due to its border with Mexico. John Cohen, the former head of intelligence for the Department of Homeland Security, told ABC that “We know Iran has an extensive presence in Mexico and South America, they have relationships, they have the drones and now they have the incentive to conduct attacks.”

Cohen also praised the FBI’s dissemination of the statement as “smart,” as it allows the state to “prepare and respond to these types of threats. Information like this is critically important for law enforcement.”