According to Iranian media reports, Tehran said Washington was planning to use copies of Iranian Shahed drones in a potential false flag operation to shift blame onto Iran.

Iranian security chief Ali Larijani warned that the United States and its allies could stage a false flag attack and blame Iran.

In a statement posted on social media on Sunday, Larijani alleged that remnants of the Jeffrey Epstein network were plotting an incident similar to the September 11 attacks in order to frame Iran.

He said Iran fundamentally opposes such terrorist plans and emphasised that Iran’s conflict is not with the American people.

Larijani added that Iran is currently defending itself against aggression by the United States and Israel, and said Tehran would continue to respond firmly in its defensive operations.

Larijani’s statement followed US media reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had shared intelligence in early February suggesting that if the United States attacked Iran, Tehran might attempt a drone strike from an unidentified vessel near the coast of California.