Iran on Thursday accused the United States of laying the groundwork for a possible “false flag” operation following reports of an alleged Iranian drone attack targeting California.
The White House stated that the report was based on an unverified tip and urged ABC News to retract its story.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei posted on X after reports circulated that Tehran was possibly planning a drone attacks in California, asking whether the report served as a “prelude” to a false flag incident.
The White House rejected claims of a potential California attack.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that ABC News should retract its story because it relied on a single unverified tip sent to California law enforcement. She also wrote: “TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did.”
ABC reported an FBI alert stating that Iran allegedly aspired to conduct an attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from a vessel off the West Coast against unspecified targets in California if the United States struck Iran.
Reuters later confirmed that the alert was based on one unverified tip sent via email to local law enforcement, and President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was not worried about Iranian retaliation on U.S. soil.
California officials also sought to ease concerns regarding the report, noting there was no imminent threat to the state though they were taking the warning seriously and preparing for worst-case scenarios.
Governor Gavin Newsom emphasized that there was no immediate danger but acknowledged officials were monitoring the situation closely.
The Associated Press reported that the FBI alert itself described the information as unverified and provided no further details on timing, targets, method, or perpetrators. Trump said Wednesday that the matter was being investigated.
