The FBI has warned California’s governor and law enforcement agencies about the possibility of an Iranian drone attack targeting the state due to information acquired last month.
The bureau authorities issued the alert at the end of February, which noted that they had information that, as of earlier that month, before the current Middle East war, Iran sought to “conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States Homeland,” according to ABC News.
A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) confirmed to the Washington Examiner that this was “one of numerous security updates” his team receives daily and that the “California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services Homeland Security Division has elevated its security posture since the start of the conflict in the Middle East.”
The warning came as the U.S. and Israel began their war against Iran, which has engulfed the entire region. Iran, in retaliation, has fired thousands of one-way attack drones and hundreds of ballistic missiles at targets all over the Middle East.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday, however, that he is not worried about a possible Iranian attack on the U.S. homeland.
Seven American service members were killed and several others injured when an Iranian drone hit a tactical operations facility in Kuwait during Iran’s opening retaliation.
Separately, a spokesperson for the state’s Office of Emergency Services Homeland Security team said it is in “regular coordination” with local state and law enforcement officials about “potential threats as part of security efforts.”
“While we can’t discuss sensitive details, Californians should know that this kind of coordination happens every day to keep people safe,” the spokesperson said. “California is prepared to protect its communities, and we’ll continue working closely with our federal partners, including the FBI, who is best positioned to speak to any specific intelligence.”
The Washington Examiner contacted the Los Angeles FBI Field Office, but a spokesperson deferred the matter to the FBI headquarters in Washington. A spokesperson there declined to comment.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll referenced such a threat in an interview with the Washington Examiner last month.
“If you think about the idea that you can containerize these, so basically, this idea that a container shipping box anywhere in the world can open its lid, that’s not a particularly difficult concept,” he said. “They exist. And then if you think about once that lid is open, that drone can act. It can get up in the air again through cell networks, so basically covered with coverage nearly globally. Our defenses, just as a human species, are not set up to defend against that.
“The biggest dilemma is just how broad the threat exists. And then how do you layer in solutions that can take into account how much just territory is required to be defended? What keeps me up at night is just the sheer magnitude of the problem that is required.”
The U.S. is trying to learn lessons from Ukrainians about how to defend against Iranian drones because the drones Russian forces have used to target Ukraine are models of the Iranian versions that American forces are now being targeted with.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dispatched drone experts to the Middle East to aid the American forces.
The Pentagon established a specific task force last year to lead the department and federal government’s counterdrone technology and security, called Joint Interagency Task Force 401, and the head of the task force, Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, visited Ukraine last month to learn from them directly.
UKRAINE LOOKS TO PROVE ITS VALUE TO AMERICA WITH DRONE ASSISTANCE
Former Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command Commander Glen VanHerck told the Washington Examiner last month that the country needs to “fundamentally change” its strategy for homeland drone defense or face the possibility of a catastrophic attack.
“The threat has grown significantly in the last five to 10 years with regards to the use of drones,” he added, noting that such an attack on the homeland “certainly could be done.”
Kaelan Deese contributed to this report.
