White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday sharply criticized ABC News and demanded a correction after the outlet reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had warned California law enforcement about a possible Iranian drone threat targeting the West Coast.
ABC initially reported that federal authorities believed Iran could retaliate for recent U.S. military action by launching offensive drones toward California. Leavitt responded on X, calling the report misleading and accusing the network of creating unnecessary fear. According to Leavitt, the story relied on a single email sent to local law enforcement that referenced only one unverified intelligence tip. She argued that ABC failed to clearly state that the information had not been confirmed, despite that wording appearing in the original alert. Leavitt wrote that no credible threat from Iran to the U.S. homeland existed and said the report should be immediately retracted. She later shared a post from FBI Assistant Director Ben Williamson, who highlighted that the word “unverified” had been omitted from ABC’s initial presentation of the alert.
ABC later updated its article with an editor’s note acknowledging that the fuller FBI alert included the missing clarification. Meanwhile, Donald Trump said the matter remained under investigation while also announcing major U.S. airstrikes against Iranian military targets on Kharg Island. Trump said the operation avoided oil infrastructure but warned Tehran against interfering with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. ⚠️🛩️
