The warning emerged as the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran continued to widen after major US-Israeli strikes began on 28 February. British parliamentary researchers said those strikes were launched by the US and Israel against Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure and were followed by Iranian counter-strikes against Israel, US bases in the region and military and civilian locations in Arab states hosting American forces. The same briefing said the fighting had already triggered significant international concern over escalation across the Middle East.
President Donald Trump publicly framed the opening US action as a mission to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities and end what his administration described as an imminent nuclear threat. A White House statement published on 1 March said Operation Epic Fury had been authorised to “eliminate the imminent nuclear threat” posed by Iran, destroy its ballistic missile arsenal and weaken its proxy networks. In a separate account of Trump’s announcement, the president was quoted as saying: “We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground.”
The California alert appears to sit within a broader pattern of US homeland security concern since the war began. ABC News reported earlier this month that a Department of Homeland Security bulletin warned that although a large-scale physical attack was unlikely, “Iran and its proxies probably pose a persistent threat of targeted attacks in the Homeland” and would likely intensify retaliation if the death of Iran’s supreme leader was confirmed. Reuters also reported on 2 March that a US intelligence assessment warned of Iranian attacks on American interests following the reported killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
