A report emerged earlier this week — just days before the 2026 Academy Awards — about a possible drone attack planned by Iran against California in retaliation for the US strikes. The revelation sparked statewide concern among West Coasters, and several entertainment industry insiders commented on the situation, including Jimmy Kimmel.
“The mood around the Oscars is a little tense this year,” the comedian said on his late-night show on Wednesday, March 11. “You know, they increased security after the FBI warned law enforcement here in California that Iran was hoping to launch a drone strike on the West Coast, which is where we’re all at right now. … Isn’t that the case?” Iron Man 3 started? The movie? We can’t handle a drone strike. We barely survived [2023] Writers strike is here.”
Here’s what we know about the FBI’s alert about a possible drone attack.
Is a drone attack being planned for California?
According to ABC News, the FBI has alerted police departments in California that Iran is planning a retaliatory drone attack. However, the attack information has not been verified.
“We recently obtained unverified information that as of early February 2026, Iran was allegedly intending to launch a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the United States launches strikes against Iran,” an alert distributed in late February said, according to ABC. “We have no additional information about the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”
However, as Kimmel noted, multiple reports about heightened security at the Oscars have been circulating online.
ABC News should immediately retract this post and story for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people.
They wrote this based on an email sent to local law enforcement in California about one unverified tip. Email to… https://t.co/jKey9ahsNk
— Carolyn Leavitt (@PressSec) March 12, 2026
What did the White House say about the report of the drone attack in California?
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt He criticized the ABC report in a post on X.com, writing that the post should be “immediately retracted…because it provided false information to intentionally alarm the American people.”
“They wrote this based on an email sent to local law enforcement in California about a single unverified tip,” Leavitt claimed in her statement. “The email even implied that the information was based on *unverified* intelligence. Yet ABC News ignored this crucial fact in its story! Why?”
Levitt ended her post by writing:To clarify: There is no such threat from Iran to our homeland, and it has never happened.”
