Recommendations of the Editorial team
The FBI has warned law enforcement agencies in California that retaliatory drone strikes from Iran could pose a real threat to the West Coast. ABC News reported this on Wednesday. The warning comes at a time when the US President is further escalating the American-Israeli offensive against Iranian infrastructure and military facilities.
“We recently received information that Iran was allegedly planning a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States mainland in early February 2026, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the United States conducts attacks against Iran,” said the alert published by ABC News. “We have no further information regarding the timing, method, target or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”
A source familiar with the memo told the Los Angeles Times that the report was based on intelligence from the U.S. Coast Guard.
White House blocked security warning
President Donald Trump previously blocked the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center from releasing a five-page security bulletin intended to inform state and local authorities about increased threats related to the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran. The joint statement was halted after the Department of Homeland Security shared it with the White House, according to a Daily Mail report.
“The White House has held up and verbally informed DHS that any non-classified but official-use information involving Iran will now have to be reviewed by the White House before it can be shared,” a senior DHS source told the Mail.
As American casualties and wounded continue to mount, there is growing concern that the conflict could also endanger Americans at home. In an interview with Time magazine given days after the offensive began, Trump suggested that retaliatory attacks on the American mainland were a real possibility.
Trump: “Some people will die”
“I guess so,” Trump said when asked whether Americans should fear retaliation in the United States. “We think about it all the time. We plan for it. But yeah, you know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people are going to die. When you go to war, some people die.”
Earlier this month, FBI Director Kash Patel dismantled a critical FBI unit responsible for investigating foreign terrorism and intelligence activities. The unit, known as CI-12, had tracked threats of retaliation from the Iranian government following the killing of General Qasem Soleimani during Trump’s first term. The agents were fired from the FBI in retaliation for their roles in the investigation into Trump’s unlawful retention of classified information after his first presidency.
On Wednesday, while touring a factory near Cincinnati, Ohio, Trump told reporters that the war with Iran was “easier than we thought.”
Iran drones in sight
“They have drones everywhere, now we’re shutting down the drone factories,” said Trump.
But even as he demonstrates confidence to the national press, American law enforcement officials are warning local governments to remain vigilant.
