An FBI warning suggests Iran may have considered an attack from the coast of California – a warning Donald Trump has now addressed.
According to the alert, issued in late February, the agency said it had “acquired information” earlier in the month indicating that Iran had “aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles.”
The alleged plan involved launching drones from offshore positions toward unspecified targets in California. The warning suggested the move could come as retaliation if the US carried out strikes against Iran.
“We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack,” the warning continued.
Trump commented on the situation late on March 11. Speaking briefly to reporters, he claimed the military campaign was going well.
“Iran is being absolutely decimated,” he said. “That’s all I can say.”
Donald Trump addressed the warning
During the exchange, Peter Doocy, White House correspondent for Fox News, asked Trump about the law-enforcement bulletin, according to LADbible.
“What have you heard about this bulletin law enforcement put out about a possible Iran revenge plot in California, where there would be some kind of a boat on shore, launching drones…” Doocy asked.
Trump replied: “It’s being investigated but you have a lot of things happening and all we can do is take them as they come.”
Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom, governor of California, wrote on X that he is “not aware of any imminent threats at this time.” He added that officials remain in “constant coordination with security and intelligence officials.”
Trump was also asked about the possibility of Iranian “sleeper cells” operating within the United States. According to CNN, a recent bulletin from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned that “two top Iranian religious leaders issued separate Farsi-language fatwas calling on Muslims worldwide to take revenge for the killing.”
“We know where most of them are”
A fatwa is a religious ruling made by an Islamic scholar. Officials added: “The fatwas, Iranian government rhetoric, and online messaging from regime supporters promoting retaliation against the US heightens the threat from violent extremists who support the Iranian regime.”
The LA Times also reported on a global broadcast that aired following Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death. The message included the words “Tavajjoh! Tavajjoh!” – Persian for “attention”– and a sequence of numbers.
The outlet noted the transmission resembled encrypted broadcasts used during the Cold War and said federal authorities warned it could act as “an operational trigger” for potential “sleeper assets” in the US.
Doocy later asked Donald Trump: “And if they try to hit us back, have you been briefed about how many Iran sleeper cells there could be inside the US right now?”
Trump responded: “I have been, and a lot of people came in through Biden, with his stupid open border. But we know where most of them are, we’ve got our eye on all of them, I think.
“They came in through the open border policies of sleepy Joe Biden, one of the worst, the worst president in the history of our country, and we’ve got our eyes on all of them.”
