President Donald Trump mentioned on Wednesday that he had been made aware of an FBI memo that warned that Iran might use its terrorist sleeper cells to launch a surprise attack on California.
Previously, amid the escalating Iran war situation, Trump had acknowledged the possibility of Americans being attacked in their homeland. Now, the FBI memo suggesting the possibility of California coming under attack makes the situation even more concerning
California Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed the possibility of this attack in a post on X: “While we are not aware of any imminent threats at this time, we remain prepared for any emergency in our state.”
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President Trump also spoke on the same, as he said, “It is being investigated, but you have a lot of things happening, and all we [can] do is take them as they come.” He further added, “The war itself is being prosecuted as well as anyone has ever seen.”
The President then invoked former President Joe Biden‘s name, blaming him for the situation even as critics note it was Trump who ordered the strikes that led to the current conflict. Trump said,
“I have been [briefed on Iranian sleeper cells], and a lot of people came in through Biden with his stupid open border, but we know where most of them are. We got our eye on all of them, I think.”
It is important to note here that the memo stemmed from an apparent tip that came up before the Iranian war. According to the memo, the FBI received “unverified” information that said that last month Iran “allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) 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.”
Moreover, the memo further added that the FBI did not have any additional information regarding the “timing, method, target, or perpetrators” of the attack. Talking to CBS News, a California-based federal law enforcement official said that the warning regarding a potential Iranian drone attack “is not actionable.”
Another federal law enforcement official said, “This is unverified. There has been no information given on the timing, source, method or target of any such attack… Since then, we have seen no further indications of this.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed federal authorities issued a warning of a potential drone strike in California from Iranian offshore vessels and said state officials are collaborating with local law enforcement to protect residents. pic.twitter.com/kl2kD4Wfbj
— SFGATE (@SFGate) March 11, 2026
Another California law enforcement official added, “All this means is we got this information, and we want to get it out to law enforcement executives to make sure they’re up to speed on it. … There is absolutely nothing more to it.”
While law enforcement officials seem quite confident that the warning does not reflect a credible threat, it is understandably concerning for the common Californian residents. America’s war with Iran has been escalating quickly, and there has been no definitive update about its end.
On top of this, Trump’s varying updates regarding the war and how the situation is progressing have caused added anxiety for the US citizens. With officials assuring that the Iran threat is “unverified,” they are continuing to monitor developments.
