Iran on Thursday accused the United States of laying the groundwork for a possible "false flag" operation after reports surfaced about a potential Iranian drone attack in California.
The White House said the report was based on an unverified tip and urged ABC News to retract it.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei posted on X after reports circulated that Tehran was possibly planning a drone attack in California. Baghaei asked whether the report was a "prelude" to a false flag incident.
The White House rejected the report about a potential California attack.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Thursday post on X that ABC News should retract its story because it relied on a single unverified tip sent to California law enforcement.
She also wrote, "TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did."
ABC had reported on an FBI alert that said Iran allegedly aspired to conduct an attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from a vessel off the West Coast against unspecified targets in California if the United States struck Iran.
Reuters later reported that the alert was based on one unverified tip sent in an email to local law enforcement, and that President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was not worried about Iranian retaliation on U.S. soil.
California officials also sought to ease any concerns regarding the report.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said there was no imminent threat to the state, though officials were taking the warning seriously and preparing for worst-case scenarios.
The Associated Press reported that the FBI alert itself said the information was unverified and provided no further details on timing, targets, method, or perpetrators. Trump said Wednesday that the matter was being investigated.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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