The US has accused Iran with undertaking influence operations meant to sow political division among the American people as well as cyberattacks on the campaigns of both US presidential candidates.
In a statement, the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency—which is in charge of overseeing the protection of federal computer systems—stated, “We have observed growing Iranian activity during this election cycle.”
The statement verified allegations made earlier this month by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign, which claimed that Iran had hacked one of its websites and that this had prompted an FBI probe.
Trump said at the time that Iran was “only able to get openly accessible information.”
Iran has also targeted Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, according to the US statement. Harris is scheduled to formally receive the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination at the upcoming convention.
In a statement, Iran’s UN mission described the claims as “unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing.” The Islamic Republic of Iran, as we have consistently stated, has no desire or intention to meddle in the US presidential election.”
Iran has carried out “cyber operations targeting presidential campaigns” and “influence operations targeting the American public in an effort to fan political divisions,” according to a US statement.
“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 continued.
The intelligence community is certain that Iranian agents, using social engineering and other techniques, “sought access to people who have direct access to the presidential campaigns of both parties,” according to the statement.
