White House and California authorities deny: No threat of Iranian drone attack

The White House and California authorities have officially denied reports of a supposed, direct threat of an Iranian drone attack on the West Coast of the United States. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt informed on March 12, 2026, that the security bulletin issued by the FBI was based on a single and completely unverified piece of information provided to the services back in early February. The Joe Biden administration criticized ABC News for publishing details of a confidential bulletin, which caused social anxiety in the Los Angeles region. California Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed that state services are monitoring the situation, but there is currently no evidence of planned aggression from Tehran. This situation highlighted tensions between the government and the media regarding national security information. The alert, which caused a stir among California residents, was prepared by the Los Angeles Joint Regional Intelligence Center and suggested the possibility of Iranian retaliation for US military actions. The document indicated a potential attack from the sea using unmanned aerial vehicles, allegedly in response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East since late February. Karoline Leavitt in an official statement on platform X categorically rejected these speculations, calling them baseless. The spokesperson emphasized that citizen safety remains a priority, but there is no reason to implement extraordinary precautionary measures. „No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists and never has existed” — Karoline Leavitt via Reuters Tension in the United States is directly linked to the escalation of military actions that began on February 28, 2026, with massive airstrikes by US and Israeli forces on targets in Iran. This conflict is the result of long-standing tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear program and Tehran's support for militant groups in the Middle East region. Previous drone incidents, such as the attack on the Saudi Ras Tanura refinery in March 2021, demonstrated Iran's capability to conduct long-range operations using unmanned aerial vehicles. The current military actions initiated in late February 2026 constitute one of the largest military operations in this region in recent years, heightening fears of retaliatory attacks on US soil. Despite the ongoing war, Governor Gavin Newsom reassured the public, emphasizing that low-credibility intelligence alerts are routinely analyzed by the services and should not be interpreted as a sign of an imminent attack. Federal authorities noted that the publication of unconfirmed intelligence data by the media can hinder operational work and unnecessarily escalate social fear. Administration representatives stressed that bulletins of this type are standard tools for information exchange between agencies and often contain raw, preliminary data requiring further verification. The situation in Los Angeles remains stable, and local law enforcement has not introduced additional security measures beyond standard threat monitoring procedures. Experts point out that in the era of an ongoing armed conflict, precision in conveying information about potential terrorist threats is crucial for maintaining public calm. Chronology of the FBI Alert Incident: early February — Information Received; February 28 — Conflict Escalation; March 11 — Bulletin Leak; March 12 — White House Denial