20 August 2024 (TDI): Iran has been charged by the US with undertaking influence operations aimed at sowing political division among the American population and hacking into the campaigns of both US presidential contenders.
Russia was previously accused by US intelligence of meddling in the Trump-won elections in 2016.
“Throughout the current presidential election, we have noticed more aggressive behavior from Iran,” a joint statement from the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (which is in charge of protecting federal computer networks) claimed.
According to the statement, the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s team had earlier this month claimed that Iran had hacked one of its websites, which prompted an FBI inquiry.
Trump claimed at the time that Iran “could only obtain information that has been made publicly accessible.”
The vice president, Kamala Harris, is scheduled to formally receive the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination at this week’s convention; the US statement said that Iran had also targeted Harris’s campaign.
The claims are “unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing,” according to a statement released by Iran’s UN mission. The Islamic Republic of Iran, as we have stated previously, has no desire or intention to meddle in the US presidential election.
In an attempt to exacerbate political rifts, the US statement claimed that Iran had carried out “cyber operations targeting presidential campaigns” as well as influence operations directed at the American public.
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“This includes the newly surfaced efforts to undermine the campaign of the former president Trump, which Iran is blamed for by the intelligence community,” the statement added.
According to the report, the intelligence community is certain that Iranian agents “sought to gain access to individuals with immediate access to the presidential campaigns of both parties” through the use of social engineering and other techniques.
Without providing any details, the statement went on to say that these actions included cyberattacks and releases “intended to negatively impact the US election process.”
Before the election of Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, US intelligence had charged Russia of meddling in the race.
