The United States has formally accused Iran of orchestrating cyberattacks on the presidential campaigns of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, as well as conducting influence operations aimed at deepening political divisions among American voters.
This marked the first time U.S. federal agencies, including the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, have directly blamed Iran for such activities during the election cycle. The agencies issued a joint statement on Monday, expressing concern over the “increasingly aggressive Iranian activity” that targeted both the American public and presidential campaigns.
The statement highlighted recent attempts to compromise Trump’s campaign, attributing these efforts to Iranian operatives. Earlier in the month, the Trump campaign had accused Iran of hacking into one of its websites, though Trump downplayed the incident, stating that the attackers only accessed publicly available information.
In addition to targeting Trump, Iran is also accused of attacking Kamala Harris’s campaign as she prepared to formally accept the Democratic Party’s nomination.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations dismissed the accusations, labeling them as “unsubstantiated” and demanding that Washington provide evidence to support its claims. The mission reiterated that Iran has no intention of interfering in the U.S. presidential election.
According to the U.S. intelligence community, Iranian operatives employed tactics such as social engineering to gain access to individuals connected to both presidential campaigns. The statement also noted that these activities included theft and disclosure of information intended to influence the U.S. election, though specifics were not provided.
Google had earlier reported that Iranian-backed hackers were targeting both Democratic and Republican campaigns, specifically naming a hacker group linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This group, APT42, is said to have targeted high-profile figures and organizations in the U.S. and Israel, including government officials and political campaigns.
The accusations against Iran come amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran, especially in light of ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. These allegations are reminiscent of the 2016 U.S. election, when Russian military intelligence was blamed for hacking the Democratic National Committee’s emails, a breach that exposed internal communications and caused significant controversy during Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
As the November 5th election approaches, concerns over foreign interference continue to mount, though U.S. agencies have yet to detail how they determined Iran’s responsibility or what specific information may have been compromised from the Trump campaign.
