Representatives of US intelligence have officially accused Iran of being responsible for hacking the campaign headquarters of US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, as well as current head of state Joe Biden, who withdrew from the race, reports the Associated Press. According to them, the cyberattack is part of a wider effort by Tehran to influence the outcome of the US election, as quoted by Focus.
Although Trump campaign officials have previously said Iran was behind the attacks, this is the first time the US government has officially held Tehran responsible for the incidents.
The US did not specify how it came to the conclusion that Iran was responsible, nor did it describe the nature of the information that may have been stolen. However, intelligence officials noted that Iran "tried to gain access to individuals in the presidential campaigns of both political parties".
"We observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle, particularly operations to influence the American public and cyber operations targeting the presidential campaigns,” the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said in a statement. and cybersecurity and infrastructure protection.
Federal officials say the hacking and other similar activities are aimed at sowing discord, exploiting divisions in American society and possibly influencing the outcome of an election that Iran considers to be "particularly significant in terms of impacting interests of national security“.
At the same time, Iran's UN mission dismissed the accusations as "baseless”, saying Tehran had neither motive nor intention to interfere in the election and demanding the US provide evidence.