Karoline Leavitt Calls on ABC News to ‘Immediately’ Retract Iran Story Warning Of Imminent Attack on West Coast
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt He called on ABC News to “immediately” retract a report that Iran planned to retaliate against American strikes by launching drone strikes on the West Coast.
Here’s an FBI alert reviewed by ABC News in late February:
We have recently learned that, starting in early February 2026, if the United States launches an attack on Iran, Iran plans to launch a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified ship against unspecified targets off the coast of the U.S. Homeland, primarily in California. We have no additional information about the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.
Leavitt called ABC News story misleading because the intelligence has not been “confirmed”.
“This post and story should be immediately retracted by ABC News for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American public,” Leavitt wrote Thursday.
“They wrote this based on an email sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unconfirmed tip. The email even states that the tip was based on *unverified* intelligence. But ABC News omitted this critical fact from their reporting! WHY?” Leavitt asked, adding: “WE MUST BE CLEAR: Iran does not and has never had such a threat to our homeland.”
ABC updated the story on Thursday and added the following editor’s note:
Editor’s note: The FBI issued a more comprehensive version of its warning to California authorities; This version also includes that the information is not verified. The latest version of this story has been updated with full disclosure.
Thursday on CNN, Inside Politics homeowner Veal Bash reported: “The governor of California Gavin Newsom “He said he was warned about unsubstantiated allegations but there was no imminent threat.”
Bash continued: “This morning, a statement purportedly from Iran’s new supreme leader threatened to attack American interests ‘on other fronts if the war continues.’”
“This is pretty scary stuff,” Bash added. “So, put the politics of it aside. It’s the human reaction right here in America. I mean, I know it’s unconfirmed, as far as we’re hearing, but we’re still hearing it, especially given what we’re hearing from inside Iran this morning.”
FBI Deputy Director for Public Affairs, Ben WilliamsonHe also shared a visible screenshot of the original newsletter that stated “not verified.”
Watch the clip above via CNN.
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