Iranian hackers have reportedly targeted individuals associated with President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign by sending emails containing stolen material from former President Donald Trump’s campaign, U.S. agencies revealed on Wednesday.
The FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed that since June, Iranian cyber actors have attempted to send non-public information related to Trump’s campaign to U.S. media outlets. This activity is part of a broader Iranian effort to sow discord and undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral process. The agencies noted that there was no evidence of any responses from the recipients and provided no further details about the nature of the stolen material.
In August, the U.S. accused Iran of cyber operations targeting both presidential campaigns and using influence tactics to escalate political tensions. Iran has denied these allegations, with its UN mission dismissing them as baseless and asserting there is no reason for Tehran to interfere in U.S. elections.
The emails, sent to Biden campaign affiliates in late June and early July, included excerpts from the stolen material. President Biden withdrew from the presidential race on July 21, with Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic candidate. Polls show a tight race between Trump and Harris.
Trump’s campaign has called on Harris and Biden to disclose whether they used the hacked material against Trump’s campaign. At a rally, Trump accused Iran of intervening to benefit Democrats, labeling it as foreign interference.
A spokesperson for Harris’s campaign stated that no material was directly received by the campaign, noting that the targeted individuals appeared to be victims of a phishing or spam attempt.
Tehran has reiterated its grievances against Washington, citing historical grievances such as the 1953 coup and the 2020 killing of General Qassem Soleimani.
