California police departments were warned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that Iran could possibly launch drone attacks in retaliation for joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, ABC News reported.
An FBI “alert” that the outlet viewed said the agency had “acquired information” warning that “as of early February 2026,” Iran was planning to launch “a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles” if the United States launched strikes on the country.
“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 reportedly stated.
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Fox News’s Bill Melugin reported in a post on X that he had contacted California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) office regarding the report from ABC News, and that he was told the “FBI bulletin was one of several security updates the state receives.”
“Newsom’s office told me the state has elevated its security posture since the start of the war & the FBI bulletin was one of several security updates the state receives from federal partners, which are then disseminated to local law enforcement,” Melugin wrote.
Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for Newsom, also explained in a statement that the “Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is actively working with state, local and federal security officials to protect” communities in the state, Melugin added.
ABC News also reported that United States “intelligence officials have also grown concerned in recent months about the expanding use of drones by Mexican drug cartels”:
U.S. intelligence officials have also grown concerned in recent months about the expanding use of drones by Mexican drug cartels and the chance the technology could be used to attack American forces and personnel near the Mexican border.
“An uncorroborated reported suggest that unidentified Mexican cartel leaders had authorized attacks using UAS (drones) carrying explosives against US law enforcement and US military personnel along the US-Mexico border,” according to a September 2025 bulletin reviewed by ABC News. “This type of attack against US personnel or interests inside the United States would be unprecedented but exemplifies a plausible scenario, although (cartels) typically avoid actions that would result in unwanted attention or responses from US authorities.”
The report from ABC News comes after joint U.S.-Israel strikes were launched on Iran, with the purpose of destroying “Iran’s stockpiles of missiles.”
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