White House Responds to ABC News’ Unverified Claim About Iranian Drone Threat to California
FBI Alert Sparks Tensions Between White House and ABC News Over Iranian Threat Reporting
A recent alert from the FBI regarding a potential "surprise attack" involving Iranian drones targeting the West Coast has ignited a heated exchange between the White House and ABC News.
Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly criticized the news outlet for what she described as irresponsible coverage. “Outlets like ABC have been playing fast and loose despite many Americans relying on them for solid, factual reporting during this conflict,” she stated in a pointed social media post. Her comments reflected sentiments expressed by Karoline Leavitt, a senior White House official, who accused the Disney-owned network of disseminating "false information" that could “intentionally alarm the American people.”
In further clarification, Kelly noted that an expanded version of the FBI report categorized the threat information as “unverified.” She emphasized, “TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did.”
ABC News had reported on a late February intelligence bulletin distributed to law enforcement agencies in California, which raised concerns about possible drone threats from boats in the Pacific. The alert stated, “We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”
Notably, Leavitt insisted that ABC retract its story for misleading the public, asserting it was based solely on a single, unverified email sent to local law enforcement. “They wrote this based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip,” she claimed.
The tension between the administration and the news outlet was further heightened by a separate incident at a synagogue in Michigan, which, although it resulted in no casualties apart from the assailant, left the public on edge.
In response to the backlash, ABC News updated its story late Thursday night, reflecting the most recent information from the FBI. An editor’s note on their platform stated, “The FBI has posted a fuller version of its alert to California authorities, which includes that the information was unverified.”
The revised alert indicated, “We recently acquired unverified information that as of early February 2026, 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 the U.S. conducted strikes against Iran.”
President Trump addressed the FBI alert during a press scrum on March 11, stating, “It’s being investigated. But you have a lot of things happening, and all we can do is take them as they come, and the war itself is being prosecuted as well as anybody has ever seen.”
As tensions rise in the lead-up to the 2026 Oscars, scheduled for March 15, the repercussions of this incident will likely continue to reverberate within media and government circles.
