LOS ANGELES (KTLA/KTXL) – Some California police departments were warned by the FBI that Iran may have “aspired” to launch a drone attack on the state in retaliation for the conflict in the Middle East, ABC News and The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday. The governor’s office acknowledged those reports at an unrelated press conference.
“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 FBI alert read, according to ABC News.
Iran may be activating sleeper cells. Experts worry the Oscars could be a target
“We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack,” the alert said.
A source told the LA Times that the U.S. Coast Guard had received intelligence that prompted the alert, and that the information has not been deemed credible.
During a virtual news conference, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was aware of the threats from Iran, adding that his office has been transmitting that information to authorities.
“The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is actively working with state, local, and federal security officials to protect our communities,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Nexstar’s KTXL.
Newsom said that drone concerns “have been always top-of-mind” for his administration, which has assembled internal working groups to address those threats.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the report, telling Nexstar’s KTXL they would “neither confirm nor deny the information.”
The bulletin is one of many security updates California receives daily from federal partners, the governor’s office said.
The Sacramento Police Department said it had not received any information about potential attacks from the FBI.
KTLA also reached out to local authorities and the FBI’s Los Angeles office for comment.
Nexstar’s Addy Bink contributed to this report.
