White House rejects report of FBI warning about Iran threat to California

The White House has dismissed a report suggesting that Iran may retaliate against the United States homeland, saying the claim was based on unverified intelligence.

Karoline Leavitt, press secretary to US President Donald Trump, pushed back against a report by ABC News that cited a warning sent by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to police departments in California about a possible Iranian retaliation.

White House disputes report

Leavitt said the report misrepresented the nature of the information shared with law enforcement, stressing that it was based on a single unverified tip.

“This post and story should be immediately retracted by ABC News for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people,” Leavitt wrote on X.

She added that the email referenced in the report clearly stated the intelligence was not verified.

“They wrote this based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip. The email even states the tip was based on unverified intelligence,” she said.

‘No threat to US homeland’

Leavitt said the administration has no evidence of an imminent Iranian threat against the United States.

“To be clear: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did,” she said.

The response came after ABC News reported that the FBI had warned California police departments that Iran could retaliate against the United States following recent military operations.

Rising tensions after strikes on Iran

Concerns about possible retaliation have grown after the United States and Israel launched a series of strikes on Iranian targets beginning on February 28.

The attacks reportedly targeted senior leadership, nuclear infrastructure and military facilities in Iran, following earlier US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025.

Iran targets US assets in Middle East

Iran has since responded by targeting US military installations across the Middle East.

According to officials, Iranian drones and missiles have struck American assets and bases in countries including Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar.

As of March 10, at least six American service members have been killed in the conflict.

The situation remains volatile as Washington and Tehran continue to exchange military actions across the region.