California could be attacked by drones because of Iran war, memo warns

Richard Winton and Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times on Mar 11, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — Law enforcement agencies across California were recently warned that the Iran war could lead to a surprise drone attack in the Golden State, but sources told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday there’s no credible intelligence to support it.

In a memo sent to agencies who are part of a federal Joint Terrorism Task Force, the government sent a message saying “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 State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran.”

A source with knowledge of the memo but not authorized to discuss it publicly said the warning was issued based on intelligence received by the U.S. Coast Guard. Law enforcement sources experienced in intelligence said such alerts are cautionary in nature.

The source is experienced in counterterrorism and said “that it’s not been deemed credible at this time.”

The sources stressed the warning was cautionary in nature and there was no indication Iran was planning an attack or if it could successfully launch one.

But the cautionary warning played into security strategies local and national authorities enacted after the war began.

Officials with the FBI declined to comment when reached by the Times on Wednesday. The memo was first reported by ABC News.