Trump Says Iran Could 'Take Out' Los Angeles or San Diego

President Donald Trump suggested at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, on 6 October that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles or San Diego, as the United States withdrew B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Britain following intelligence of a possible Iranian drone attack on the base.¹⁴²⁶

Rally remarks and backlash

Speaking to supporters, Trump said, "They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego," according to the dossier. The crowd cheered the remark.⁷

Governor Gavin Newsom called the comments "dangerous – if not treasonous – putting a target on two of our biggest cities and one of America's largest naval hubs," and said he was directing the State Threat Assessment Center to monitor whether foreign actors might interpret the remarks as an invitation to target California.¹⁷

Republican criticism followed. San Diego House candidate Jim Desmond, a Navy veteran running in a district reshaped by Proposition 50, said he strongly opposed the president's remarks. He added that while the country needed to confront Iran and protect its interests, a commander-in-chief's foremost duty was keeping Americans safe. The Guardian reported that other Republicans went even further, with Lawson-Remer branding Trump unfit to lead and a traitor, and Cochran saying he had overstepped a line no president should approach.¹⁴

The White House defended the president through communications director Steven Cheung, dismissing the backlash as "not rooted in reality" and arguing that Trump was describing what could have happened to US cities had a nuclear-armed Iran not been stopped. Officials said Iran currently has no nuclear capability, navy, air force or money.¹⁴⁹

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass warned Trump to stop invoking her city, while former Secretary Xavier Becerra said he was treating Californians' lives as a joke. Representative Sara Jacobs said the people she represents, among them numerous active-duty troops, veterans and their relatives, should not be treated as expendable casualties of what she called Trump's reckless war.⁹⁴

Bombers withdrawn from Britain

The remarks came as the US Air Force evacuated at least 12 B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire after intelligence suggested Iran was planning a complex drone attack on the base. A Defense Department official said all bombers deployed there have redeployed to home stations in the United States.²⁶

British counter-terror police arrested seven men, including a dual UK-Iranian national detained in central London, in connection with the suspected plot. The Week reported that the alleged plot relied on small drones patterned after Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb, aiming to strike parked aircraft. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said, "We have been waiting to confirm what we could say, but we can now confirm our belief that Iran played a part," while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied involvement, saying, "You're barking up the wrong tree."²⁸

Trump confirmed the aircraft had been relocated in response to a threat, though he said he could not verify whether Iran had sent a drone toward Britain, cautioning that whoever was responsible "will suffer greatly." He added that he was still weighing his next steps regarding Iran, including possible new strikes, saying, "We have decisions that I'll make about Iran. Iran's been decimated. The only question, he said, is whether it happens the easy way or the hard way." US officials reported that the aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Malkin Island were en route to the Middle East, which could bring the total number of carriers in the region to three by late October.³⁶²

Economic ripple effects

Iranian officials made competing claims about the state of the conflict. The Independent reported that Revolutionary Guards Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi claimed no American ships remained in the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman or the northern Indian Ocean, and asserted that US naval vessels were entirely exposed to Iranian attack. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that Iran intended to maintain the closure of the Strait of Hormuz until terms from a June interim agreement were satisfied, while a Houthi military spokesman described the attacks as involving a mix of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.³

As of 5 October, US Central Command had rerouted 130 commercial ships because of a naval blockade targeting Iran, and the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said a tanker had been struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington still had confidence in the security of all its bases.³

OPEC+ decided to hold November oil output unchanged, while the Group of Seven announced plans to put 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products into the market. The Independent reported US drivers were spending an average of $66.86 more per month on unleaded gasoline than in October 2025, and diesel drivers $139.32 more. Trump told the rally that the resulting high prices were "a small price to pay" for keeping the country safe.³¹⁵⁷