CIA: Kremlin favors Donald Trump, Iran - Kamala Harris

Despite ties between Moscow and Tehran, American intelligence suggests that the two countries have different preferences for who should be the next president of the United States, Voice of America (VoA) writes.

Unnamed US officials said on Monday that Moscow favors Republican candidate Donald Trump while Tehran favors Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, with both sides trying to influence the outcome through disinformation campaigns.

U.S. officials have said Moscow is conducting operations aimed at supporting the Trump campaign and harming the Harris campaign, and Iran is benefiting from an ongoing hack and leak operation against the Trump campaign, which VoA says has been "tracked up to three operatives working for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)".

Both countries are likely to use the damage from Hurricanes "Helen" and "Milton" to create narratives to undermine credibility in the election results, according to US intelligence agencies.

A senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the agencies have seen a recent "triple increase" of external influence efforts.

Officials have commented that Beijing has yet to exert its influence on the presidential election, focusing instead on state and local candidates seen as at odds with Beijing's interests, such as those who support Taiwan despite that they added that Russia and Cuba have also joined Beijing's efforts.

"Moscow is using a wide range of influence factors in its efforts to influence congressional races, particularly to encourage the American public to oppose pro-Ukraine policies and politicians," an intelligence official commented.

"Havana has almost certainly considered influence efforts targeting some candidates... This is consistent with what they have done in previous election cycles," the official added.

Beijing rejected the idea in an inquiry by VoA.

The US intelligence report is consistent with previous events and rhetoric from Moscow and Tehran, even though the two countries are close allies.

Trump's running mate, JD Vance, has come out strongly against further aid to Ukraine. Trump himself has also been skeptical about Ukraine before and after Russia's 2022 invasion, which would benefit Moscow.

During his presidency, Trump blocked military aid to Ukraine in 2019 before the phone call that led to his impeachment. In that incident, Trump called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his opponent in the 2020 election, Democrat Joe Biden, who went on to win the election and become president of the United States. Ultimately, Trump was acquitted on all charges by a party-line vote in the Senate.

In the immediate aftermath of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Trump also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "genius" . While Trump's statements on Ukraine have varied -- including promises to end the war "in 24 hours" - in recent weeks he has criticized Ukraine for not ending the war by handing over its territories in exchange for a ceasefire, an idea that Kiev said could not be used.

Still, Putin once said he would support Harris -- with a wry smile, in a supposedly sarcastic remark.

As for Iran, Trump's tough stance on the country — especially during his presidency — is likely why she would prefer Harris over Trump.

Trump imposed some sanctions on Tehran during his presidency and ordered a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020 that killed Qassem Soleimani, then a top IRGC commander.

In contrast, while Harris — as vice president of the Biden administration — maintained strong support for Iran's regional adversary Israel, the administration sought to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East — which would likely benefit Tehran, as many speculate. that the country is not ready for a full-scale war with Israel.

However, Harris condemned Iran's recent retaliatory missile strike on Israel, with the Biden administration likely to shelve a cease-fire proposal following Israel's invasion of Lebanon against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

With a major regional war looming in the Middle East, one important question remains unanswered - how far will Harris go to support Israel?