Iranian hackers sent e-mails with stolen materials of the election campaign of the candidate for the presidency of the United States, ex-president Donald Trump, to people from the campaign headquarters of President Joe Biden. This was part of Tehranʼs efforts to influence elections in the United States.
This is reported by Reuters.
"Additionally, since June, Iranian hackers have been sending stolen non-public materials related to the Trump campaign to the US media organizations, FBI and CIA. This malicious cyber activity is the latest example of Iranʼs multi-pronged approach to foment discord and undermine confidence in our election process," the US agencies said in a joint statement.
Iran, on the other hand, denies meddling in US affairs. On Wednesday, the countryʼs permanent mission to the United Nations in New York said the latest US accusations were "fundamentally unfounded and completely unacceptable". It added: "Iran has neither the motive nor the intention to interfere in US elections."
In late June and early July, the attackers sent emails to people in the Biden campaign that contained excerpts from stolen Trump campaign material.
On July 21, Biden dropped out of the presidential race and was replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Trump campaign officials said both Biden and Harris should admit whether they used the stolen material to "harm" Trump. Later at the rally, the ex-president announced Iranʼs attempt to interfere in the US elections, noting that representatives of this country hacked the bases of his election campaign in order to "help the Democrats".
"We are not aware of any material being sent directly to the campaign headquarters. Several people targeted their personal emails in what appeared to be spam or a phishing attempt," campaign spokesman Harris said after the US agenciesʼ statement.
Tehran also claims Washington has been meddling in its affairs for decades, from the 1953 coup to the 2020 assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.
Elections in the USA
This yearʼs presidential election in the USA will be held on November 5, 2024. Donald Trump became the Republican candidate in mid-July and presented his vice presidential candidate James David Vance. Vance consistently opposes aid to Ukraine and says that Kyiv will have to cede some territories for a ceasefire.
Incumbent Joe Biden was supposed to be the Democratic nominee, but after an unsuccessful debate with Trump in June, he came under fire and pressure from the leaders and donors of the US Democratic Party. So on July 21, Biden officially announced that he was withdrawing from the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Harris has already become an official candidate from the Democratic Party. Her vice-presidential candidate is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, known for his support of Ukraine and sharp criticism of Trump and Vance.
- The US has long claimed foreign interference in its elections. The greatest efforts are made by Russia, China and Iran. Hoping for a rapprochement with the US in the event of a Trump victory, the Russians, among other things, create and spread fakes, disinformation and propaganda discrediting the Democrats. In particular, they targeted the reputation of current Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Iran, on the other hand, fears a worsening of relations with the United States if Trump comes to power again. So Iranʼs bot farms and cyberattacks usually target Republicans.
- Attempts at foreign interference in the US elections noticeably intensified in August. Iran, China and Russia use troll farms, fabricated news sites, deep fakes, etc. to spread fakes and discredit candidates on social networks.