The United States has accused Iran of launching cyber attacks on the presidential campaigns of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and of running influence operations aimed at deepening political divisions among US voters.
The accusation, made by the FBI and other federal agencies, is the first time the US government has directly blamed a foreign power during this election season, highlighting concerns about foreign interference in the upcoming election. “We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle, specifically involving influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting presidential campaigns,” said the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in a joint statement on Monday.
The agencies noted that these activities included attempts to compromise the Trump campaign, which they attribute to Iran. Earlier this month, the Trump campaign accused Iran of hacking one of its websites, though Trump stated that Iran had only accessed publicly available information.
Iran has denied the accusations. The Iranian mission to the United Nations called the allegations “unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing,” challenging the US to provide evidence. They reiterated that Iran has no intention or motive to interfere in the US election.
The statement from the US agencies also mentioned that Iranian operatives used social engineering and other methods to gain access to individuals connected to both presidential campaigns. The aim of these activities was reportedly to steal and disclose information to influence the election process, though the specifics were not detailed.
The United States is set to vote on November 5. Earlier this month, Google reported that hackers linked to Iran targeted both Democratic and Republican campaigns. The hacker group APT42, associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was reportedly involved in attacks on high-profile individuals and organizations in Israel and the United States, including government officials and political campaigns.
This accusation against Iran comes amid rising tensions between the US and Tehran, particularly in the context of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza. However, the US agencies did not provide specific details on how they concluded that Iran was responsible or what information, if any, was stolen from the Trump campaign.
