Iran Hacked Trump Campaign, Intelligence Officials Say

The hacking of former president Donald Trump’s campaign earlier this month was part of an operation conducted by Iran, according to reports by U.S. intelligence officials. The hackers obtained confidential documents from the campaign and attempted to get them published in POLITICO.

After investigation by several intelligence agencies, officials have concluded that the cybercrime was committed by Iran as part of a systematic effort to interfere in American elections and protect its interests from U.S. intervention. 

Per a joint statement by the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), 

Iran seeks to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions. Iran has furthermore demonstrated a longstanding interest in exploiting societal tensions through various means, including through the use of cyber operations to attempt to gain access to sensitive information related to U.S. elections… 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.

The report also asserts that Iran was involved in an attempted hack on the Harris campaign.

Both candidates have qualities that may concern the government in Tehran. As president, Trump pulled out of the JCPOA and approved the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, one of the top commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran. While Kamala Harris supported the JCPOA during her time as vice president, the Democratic platform released for adoption at the ongoing Democratic National Convention also takes a hawkish approach towards Iran, accusing Trump of “fecklessness and weakness in the face of Iranian aggression.”

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