FBI Accuses Iran for the Trump Campaign Hack
The FBI and other intelligence agencies declared on Monday that they had come to the conclusion that Iran was in fact responsible for the Trump campaign breach, and that the country’s hackers had made attempts to “sabotage both presidential campaigns.”
“We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle, specifically involving influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting Presidential campaigns. This includes the recently reported activities to compromise former President Trump’scampaign, which the [intelligence community] attributes to Iran,” the FBI said in a statement, alongside the office of the director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The nation has “sought access to individuals with direct access to the Presidential campaigns of both political parties,” the statement continues.
“Such activity, including thefts and disclosures, are intended to influence the U.S. election process,” they continued.
Although the Trump campaign said earlier in the month that Iran was the source of its attack, as it was discovered by a team of researchers working for Microsoft, U.S. intelligence agencies have not yet provided any additional information about the potential hackers.
Iran and China are increasingly imitating efforts to “spread misinformation and create division” among Americans ahead of the election, according to intelligence community officials.
“Iran perceives this year’s elections to be particularly consequential in terms of the impact they could have on its national security interests, increasing Tehran’s inclination to try to shape the outcome,” the U.S. agencies said in a statement.
Reports also surfaced earlier this summer that claimed Iran had planned a scheme to attempt to kill former president Trump.
“Such allegations are unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing,” a spokesman for the Iranian Mission to the United Nations said on Monday.
“As we have previously announced, the Islamic Republic of Iran harbors neither the intention nor the motive to interfere with the U.S. presidential election. Should the U.S. 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,” he continued.
Although the intelligence community statement denounces Iran’s behavior, it is unclear if the United States intends to take countermeasures or if officials believe that retaliation is necessary.
“We will not tolerate foreign efforts to influence or interfere with our elections, including the targeting of American political campaigns,” the agencies said.
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