Oscars Security Addresses Concerns About Possible Iran Drone Strike in California

Security is ramping up for the 2026 Oscars amid the Iran war.

On Wednesday (March 11), host Conan O’Brien and members of The Academy rolled out the red carpet outside of the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood ahead of the big event set to take place on Sunday, March 15.

As Hollywood prepares for the Oscars this weekend, security is on heightened alert after the FBI warned California law enforcement about the possibility of a retaliatory drone attack by Iran targeting the West Coast, according to an alert reported by ABC News.

Keep reading to find out more…While the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department won’t comment on the memo, they did share in a statement to the L.A. Times that the department was continuing to operate at an “elevated level of readiness and is maintaining increased vigilance.”

During a press conference on Wednesday with the Oscars creative team, executive producer Raj Kapoor responded to a question about the safety of guests and attendees.

“I feel like on this show, we have one of the best teams in the business in all aspects, and that comes down to our security team,” Kapoor said, per Variety. “So, of course, every year we monitor what’s going on in the world. We have the support of the FBI and the LAPD, and it’s a close collaboration.”

“This show has to run like clockwork,” he continued. “But we want everybody who is coming to this show, who is witnessing the show, who is even a fan of the show, when they’re standing outside the barricades. We want everybody to feel safe, protected, and welcome. It’s our job as a producing team to make sure that that translates, and that really comes down to us with this very tight relationship, and we have a whole other team of support. It’s something that we don’t take lightly and we take a lot of responsibility for.”

While there was increased security at the red carpet rollout, it has been reported that it was not overtly visible.

Earlier this week, Donald Trump offered a confusing explanation on how the war in Iran is both “very complete” and also “just the beginning.