Mystery drones buzz Rubio and Hegseth homes – WaPo

A clandestine Iranian unit has claimed that US officials “will no longer be safe anywhere in the world”

Unidentified drones have been spotted above a US military base where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth live, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing sources. The report comes as Tehran has vowed retaliation to continued US-Israel strikes on Iran, many of which have targeted senior officials.

Multiple drones have buzzed Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, DC within the past ten days, according to three WaPo sources familiar with the matter. The sightings come after the US and Israel assassinated numerous top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has promised a “decisive” response to what it described as illegal attacks. Following Khamenei’s killing, the elite Quds Force within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which specializes in clandestine ops, warned that US and Israeli officials “will no longer be safe anywhere in the world, not even in their own homes.”

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A senior administration official told the WaPo the military is increasing surveillance due to the heightened security risks, adding that the sightings triggered a White House meeting and led officials to consider relocating Rubio and Hegseth. WaPo sources, however, claim that both remain at the base.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell declined to comment, saying that any reporting on the secretary of war’s movements “is grossly irresponsible.”

Fort McNair sits close to Capitol Hill and the White House, and houses the National Defense University and senior Pentagon officials. However, according to the WaPo, unlike many capital-region installations, it lacks the same security buffer as other area bases.

The report comes as the US intelligence community privately issued warnings to American companies and government agencies of a potential Iranian retaliation while urging vigilance. In addition, the State Department earlier this week asked all US missions abroad to “immediately” evaluate their security risks.

The Iran war also sparked similar warnings to the authorities in California, though Governor Gavin Newsom insisted he was not aware of any imminent threat. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the statement, saying “no such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did.”