Karoline Leavitt has slammed an ABC News report warning of a potentially Iranian drone attack in California as “reckless” and “completely false.”
The White House spokeswoman called the report that the FBI had quietly warned state law enforcement Iran might retaliate for US airstrikes a ”phony story” in a post to X Thursday – and demanding an immediate retraction.
“There has never been a credible threat against the American homeland from Iran,” she wrote, claiming the network was creating ”alarm” based on unverified tips.
The post lit up X, drawing praise from supporters for “calling out fake news” and sparking criticism from others, who accused the administration of downplaying potential risks.
The report comes from an early February FBI alert warning that Iran was plotting a ‘surprise attack using unmanned aerial objects” from a ship off the coast ”in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran.”
The alert was sent to police departments across the region, but it does not make clear where specifically could be targeted. The FBI declined to comment when approached by The Post.
Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed the FBI alert during a press conference Wednesday, admitting there was a “critical” threat.
He said, “Drone issues have been top of mind. We’ve been aware of that information, we’ve been working collaboratively with the [State Operations Center].”
California has the highest concentration of Iranian dissidents in the US — up to 500,000 — but it is not clear if that was why the state could be targeted.