White House Press Secretary Refutes ABC News Report on Alleged Iranian Threat to U.S. Homeland
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, refuted a report by ABC News claiming that the FBI had warned California police departments about potential retaliation from Iran following a U.S. military operation. Leavitt emphasized that there is no credible threat from Iran to the U.S. homeland. She criticized ABC News for not clarifying that the information was based on an unverified tip in an email to local law enforcement in California.
ABC News reported that the FBI had alerted California police departments about Iran's alleged plan to launch a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the U.S., specifically targeting unspecified locations in California. The FBI alert, sent in late February, lacked details on the timing, method, targets, or perpetrators of the supposed attack.
FBI spokesman Ben Williamson shared a screenshot of the actual FBI alert sent to Joint Terrorism Task Forces partners, highlighting that the information was unverified. Concerns about potential threats to the U.S. have heightened following the military strikes on Iran. President Trump mentioned being briefed on the presence of Iranian sleeper cells in the U.S., attributing their entry to lax border policies.
The White House press secretary called for ABC News to retract the misleading report, emphasizing that the threat from Iran to the U.S. homeland is non-existent. The FBI alert, based on an unverified tip, lacked specific details about any potential attack by Iran using unmanned aerial vehicles off the coast of California. President Trump's remarks about Iranian sleeper cells in the U.S. have raised concerns about national security in the aftermath of military actions against Iran.