Oscars Ramp Up Security Amid Iran Drone Attack Concerns

The Academy Awards organizers announced Wednesday that they will be increasing security measures for the Oscars on Sunday night in response to a report that Iran may be planning drone strikes around California. Executive producers Katy Mullan and Raj Kapoor said at a press conference, though, that they had no direct information about specific threats.

“Every year we monitor what’s going on in the world,” Kapoor told reporters. “We have the support of the FBI and the LAPD, and it’s a close collaboration. This show has to run like clockwork. But we want everybody that is coming to this show, that is witnessing the show, that is even a fan of the show when they’re standing outside the barricades, we want everybody to feel safe and protected and welcome, so it’s our job as a producing team to make sure that that translates.”

Kapoor added that the Academy has one of the “best teams in the business,” including “our security team.”

The 98th Academy Awards is set to be broadcast live from Los Angeles’ Dolby Theater beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. It will air on ABC and stream on Hulu. The most nominated movie this year is Sinners, followed by One Battle After Another, Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, and Sentimental Value.

A government memo, circulated among the federal Joint Terrorism Task Force, surfaced on Wednesday stating that Iran could be plotting retaliatory strikes on the West Coast after the United States and Israel launched an offensive against the country on Feb. 28. “We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State [sic]Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the U.S. conducted strikes against Iran,” an alert, first reported by ABC News, said.
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Los Angeles Times cited a source “with knowledge of the memo” who said the tip came from the U.S. Coast Guard. The same source said that the warning has “not been deemed credible at this time.” California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was aware of the threat. “Drone issues have been top of mind, and we’ve assembled some work groups specifically around those concerns,” he said.

The LAPD told NBC Los Angeles that it was not aware of any credible threats against the Dolby Theatre for the night of the Oscars.