The United States government has accused Iran of conducting cyber operations against the campaigns of both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as engaging in influence activities aimed at sowing political discord among the American public.
In a joint statement released Monday by the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the U.S. confirmed that Iranian cyber operatives have been increasingly aggressive during the current election cycle.
“We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle,” the agencies stated. “This includes the recently reported activities to compromise former President Trump’s campaign, which the intelligence community attributes to Iran.”
The statement follows allegations made earlier this month by Trump’s campaign that a website associated with his campaign had been hacked by Iranian operatives, prompting an FBI investigation. Trump downplayed the incident at the time, saying, “Iran was only able to access publicly available information.”
The statement also revealed that the Iranian cyber operations targeted Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, just as she prepares to officially accept the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination at this week’s convention.
In addition to the direct attacks on the campaigns, the U.S. agencies accused Iran of conducting influence operations aimed at exacerbating political divisions within the U.S. “Iran has conducted influence operations targeting the American public, with the intention of fanning political discord,” the statement added.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations dismissed the allegations as “unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing.” In a statement, the mission reiterated, “As we have previously announced, the Islamic Republic of Iran harbors neither the intention nor the motive to interfere with the U.S. presidential election.”
The U.S. intelligence community remains confident that Iranian operatives used social engineering and other tactics to gain access to individuals with direct links to both presidential campaigns. The stolen information, according to the agencies, was intended to influence the U.S. election process.
