US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned police departments in California in recent days that Iran could retaliate for American attacks by launching drones at the West Coast, ABC News reported on Wednesday, citing an alert reviewed by the news outlet.

“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,” the report quoted the alert distributed at the end of February as saying.

But the alert also added that authorities “have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”

The FBI’s warning did not specify how or when vessels carrying attack drones could get close enough to the US mainland.

The warning came just as the Trump administration launched its assault against Iran, the report added.

A joint US-Israel military assault on Iran, which started on February 28, triggered a sharp escalation across the Middle East, setting off waves of missile exchanges, mounting casualties and far-reaching political and security repercussions.

• A Tell Media / Xinhua report