The consequences of Trump's (and Israel's) war with Iran could hit very close to home if Iran, or one of its proxies, were able to launch a drone strike from a vessel in the Pacific aimed at California.

The warning was vague but nonetheless chilling. As ABC News reported Wednesday morning, law enforcement agencies around California were warned by the FBI in February that Iran could be seeking to retaliate against the US by launching a drone strike somewhere in the state.

The text of the late February alert was as follows:

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 States Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran. We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.

We are just 12 days into this war — or conflict, as many in the Trump administration want to call it — with Iran, and Tuesday marked the heaviest day of attacks so far within the country.

Iran has continued launching missile and drone attacks at US allies across the Mideast region, and the idea that they would like to attack somewhere on US soil only makes sense.

A threat assessment issued by the Department of Homeland Security last week suggested that Iran and its proxies "probably" pose a threat of targeted attacks in the US, as Reuters reported. But, the agency said, a large-scale physical strike was unlikely.

ABC News notes that the FBI issued a similar warning about potential drone attacks on the West Coast or along the US-Mexican border back in September, but that warning was about Mexican drug cartels seeking to attack the US.

Per Reuters, Governor Gavin Newsom's office downplayed the FBI bulletin, saying it was "one of many security updates ‌the ⁠state received from federal partners daily."  And Newsom spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo added, "The Governor's Office of Emergency Services is actively working with state, local and federal security officials."

This should be cold comfort, but a reporter asked President Trump at a briefing outside the White House Wednesday if he was concerned about Iran attacking on US soil, and he said, "No, I'm not."

Top image: NOWA DEBA, POLAND - NOVEMBER 18: A decoy drone flies during a NATO live-fire demonstration of a counter-UAS system on November 18, 2025 in Nowa Deba, Poland. The exercise, hosted by the Polish Ministry of Defense, came as Polish soldiers, along with Romanian and U.S. forces, completed training on a counter-UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) system used successfully in Ukraine. NATO members Poland and Romania fielded these systems as part of Operation Eastern Sentry, NATO's response to recent incursions of Russian drones into European airspace. (Photo by Omar Marques/Getty Images)