FBI ‘confident’ Iran tried to interfere in US election

Tehran’s operatives utilized “social engineering” to gain direct access to the campaigns of both presidential candidates, the agency has claimed

The US intelligence community is “confident” that Iran tried to hack the presidential campaigns of Republican nominee Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden, and his vice president, Kamala Harris, the FBI and several other agencies have said. Iran has denied the allegations and has challenged the US to provide evidence.

The FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a joint statement on Monday, accusing Iran of long-running attempts to “stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.” 

“The Intelligence Community is confident that the Iranians have through social engineering and other efforts sought access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both political parties,” the agencies said.

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These activities included “thefts and disclosures” and sought to influence the US election process, the agencies alleged. They claimed that the approach “is not new,” and that Iran and Russia had both previously engaged in such activities. Moscow has consistently denied allegations of election meddling.

The statement also argued that Iran views the current US election cycle as “particularly consequential in terms of the impact [it] could have on its national security interests, increasing Tehran’s inclination to try to shape the outcome.” 

The campaign of Republican nominee Donald Trump claimed last week that foreign actors had stolen a number of internal documents and emails. Google has also alleged that an Iran-linked hacking unit was involved in a phishing operation that targeted both campaigns in a bid to steal personal information and gain access to accounts.

Iran has denied the allegations, calling them “unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing.” “Should the US government genuinely believe in the validity of its claims, it should furnish us with the pertinent evidence – if any – to which we will respond accordingly,” Tehran’s mission to the UN stressed, as quoted by the IRNA news agency.

Previously, Iran had itself claimed to be “a victim of various cyber-attacks” on the country’s infrastructure, adding that Tehran’s “cyber power is defensive and… proportionate to the threats it faces.”