On Monday, the United States accused Iran of launching cyber operations against the campaigns of both U.S. presidential candidates, as well as conducting influence operations aimed at sowing political discord among the American public.
In a joint statement, the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) noted that they had observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activities during this election cycle.
The statement also confirmed previous claims made by the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, which alleged that Iran had hacked one of its websites, prompting an FBI investigation. Trump had earlier downplayed the incident, stating that Iran had only accessed publicly available information.
Additionally, the U.S. statement revealed that Iran had targeted the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, who was set to officially accept the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination during the week’s convention.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations denied the allegations, calling them “unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing.” The statement emphasized that Iran had neither the intention nor the motive to interfere in the U.S. presidential election.
The U.S. statement elaborated on Iran’s efforts, stating that the nation had conducted influence operations aimed at exacerbating political divisions within the American public, alongside cyber operations specifically targeting the presidential campaigns.
The intelligence community is confident that Iranian operatives used social engineering and other tactics to attempt to gain access to individuals with direct ties to the presidential campaigns of both parties. These activities reportedly included the theft and disclosure of information intended to influence the U.S. election process, although the statement did not provide further details.
