- Harris's campaign said they were unaware of any material sent directly to them.
- A few individuals received spam or phishing emails.
- Trump claimed Iran hacked his campaign to help Democrats.
- Tehran accused the U.S. of historic interference, citing the 1953 coup and Soleimani's killing.
Iranian hackers have been accused of sending emails with stolen material from Donald Trump’s campaign to Joe Biden’s re-election team, as part of a broader effort to influence the US election, according to US agencies . These hackers, allegedly backed by Tehran, have been actively sending non-public material from Trump’s campaign to US media organizations since June.
The recent malicious cyber activity is a clear indication of Iran’s multi-faceted strategy to incite discord and erode confidence in the electoral process, according to U.S. intelligence agencies. They noted that, at this time, there is no evidence to suggest that the recipients of the attacks responded. Specific details regarding the nature of the stolen material have not been disclosed.
In August, the United States accused Iran of conducting cyber operations against both U.S. presidential campaigns and targeting individuals within the country to promote political discord. Despite these allegations, Iran has denied any interference in U.S. affairs, maintaining its stance against such accusations.
On Wednesday, Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York dismissed the latest U.S. allegations as “fundamentally unfounded, and wholly inadmissible.” The statement emphasized that “Iran neither has any motive nor intent to interfere in the U.S. election,” firmly rejecting the claims made by U.S. intelligence agencies.
According to those agencies, malicious cyber actors sent unsolicited emails to individuals involved in President Biden’s campaign in late June and early July. These emails reportedly contained excerpts from stolen material related to the Republican presidential candidate’s campaign. Following these events, Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on July 21, leading to Vice President Kamala Harris stepping in as the Democratic candidate. Current polls indicate a tight race between Harris and former President Trump.
In response to the allegations, Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, asserted that these claims serve as “further proof the Iranians are actively interfering in the election to help Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.” She argued that Iran understands President Trump would reinstate strict sanctions and oppose their influence. Leavitt called for transparency from Harris and Biden, questioning whether they had utilized the hacked material against Trump and demanding to know what they were aware of regarding the situation.
A spokesperson for Kamala Harris’s campaign stated that they were “not aware of any material being sent directly to the campaign.” They clarified that only a few individuals had been targeted through their personal emails, which appeared to be spam or phishing attempts rather than direct interference.
At a rally on Wednesday night, former President Trump claimed that Iran had hacked into his campaign in an effort to assist the Democrats, labeling the incident as foreign election interference. This assertion aligns with ongoing concerns regarding cybersecurity and election integrity.
In response to the U.S. allegations, Tehran has pointed out that Washington has a long history of interfering in its affairs. This includes events such as the 1953 coup that ousted an Iranian prime minister and the 2020 assassination of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, which Tehran regards as significant acts of foreign intervention.
