California and Sacramento officials: There's no imminent Iran drone threat

Mathew Miranda, The Sacramento Bee on Mar 12, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Federal, state and local officials largely remained in agreement Thursday that there were no imminent threats to California from Iranian drones.

The warning of a drone strike was first reported by ABC News on Wednesday. The report centered on an FBI alert sent to local police departments about a tip that Iran “allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack” from an unidentified vessel off the California coast, according to the news outlet.

The warning came in early February, before the U.S. and Israel launched surprise attacks on Iranian cities and military sites.

Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper said Thursday the agency heard about the report from federal law enforcement but that it was not considered a credible threat.

“The more possible threat of some lone wolf doing some action versus sending a ship with drones on it to,” Cooper told The Sacramento Bee. “That just got out. There’s no truth to that.”

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said his office was aware of the reports and had requested additional information from Trump administration officials on federal efforts to counter any potential threats.

In a Thursday morning post on X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called for the retraction of the ABC News story and said it provided “false information to intentionally alarm the American people.” Leavitt said the story was based on one email sent to local law enforcement in California “about a single, unverified tip.”

“No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did,” Leavitt wrote.

Gina Swankie, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Sacramento field office, said in an email that the agency “will neither confirm nor deny” ABC’s report, according to previous reporting from The Sacramento Bee.

Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters Wednesday that he was aware of the report and his administration was working with the Office of Emergency Services’ State Operations Center to funnel information to law enforcement.

“It’s all-around intelligence collecting, and it’s all about a posture of preparedness for the worst-case scenario,” he said on Wednesday. “We have been gaming those out for some time as it relates to, again, what the FBI has been warning of. Again, it’s not a surprise, and it’s sort of a large part of the larger spectrum of considerations that we have as it relates to doing what we can to support our federal partners and local partners at the state level, in terms of what could happen next.”

Michael Eisenstadt, the director of the military and security studies program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said an attack was “plausible” but cautioned against quantifying the likelihood. He added that the threat of a retaliation attack will continue for years, even after the war is deemed over.

“My thinking is this war is going to have long tails,” Eisenstadt said. “In other words, once it’s over, it’s not really over ... This might be a threat that will linger for a long time to come.”

Retired Marine intelligence officer’s perspective

Cal OES, in a written statement, said its Homeland Security team is in regular coordination with federal, state and local partners to share information on potential threats.

“While we can’t discuss sensitive details, Californians should know that this kind of coordination happens every day to keep people safe,” said the office in a statement. “California is prepared to protect its communities, and we’ll continue working closely with our federal partners.”

Hal Kempfer, a retired Marine intelligence officer, said he believes there is “always a threat” of a drone attack given their increasing use in warfare and terrorism. He called the potential for an attack on California “realistic,” adding that Sacramento could be a “possibility” because of the region’s critical infrastructure.

He cited state government buildings and military bases as potential targets should an attack occur.

“Tactics, techniques, procedures and technology involving drones just keeps getting better and better every year,” said Kempfer, who spent 24 years with the U.S. Marines.

Bruce Hoffman, a senior fellow for counterterrorism and homeland security at the Council on Foreign Relations, published an op-ed last week saying Iran could have “greater incentive” to use all forms of “asymmetric warfare” the longer the war continues. Hoffman is a renowned American political analyst specializing in terrorism and insurgency for nearly five decades.

“Sleeper agents, lone actors inspired and motivated by Iran, cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure, and physical attacks on critical infrastructure are all possible,” Hoffman wrote.

The Insecurity Insight website lists several tips in case of a drone attack, according to previous reporting from The Bee. These include running in a zig-zag pattern, hiding from view and not attracting attention.

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(The Bee’s Capitol Bureau reporters Kate Wolffe and Lia Russell contributed to this story.)

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