US Intelligence: Iran Trying to Influence Elections: Against Donald Trump; Favors Kamala Harris
“The IC assesses that Iran is making a greater effort than in the past to influence this year’s election.”
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) Two officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) held a press briefing last week in which they updated reporters on the efforts of hostile foreign powers to influence the upcoming U.S. elections.
Russia, China, and Iran are the most active countries conducting such activities, according to the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC.}
“Iran poses a significant foreign influence influence threat to U.S. elections,” one ODNI official said, as he responded to a question from Kurdistan 24’s Washington Bureau chief, Rahim Rashidi.
“Our assessment is Iran continues efforts to fuel distrust in U.S. political institutions and increase social discord,” the official stated.
Iran does not want to see a second term for former President Donald Trump. It much prefers a victory for his opponent. It was first President Joe Biden, until July 21, when he dropped out of the race in favor of his Vice-President, Kamala Harris.
On Sept, 18, the FBI, ODNI, and CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) issued a joint statement detailing a particularly egregious Iranian effort to influence the U.S. vote.
Tehran stole emails from Trump campaign officials in June and July and then leaked them to the campaign of Biden, then his rival, as well as to the U.S. media.
In answering Kurdistan 24’s question, the ODNI official alluded to that effort, as he affirmed that several U.S. agencies have detailed Tehran’s “efforts to influence the presidential race through the hack-and-leak operation against former President Trump.”
Iran Exploiting Gaza Conflict
Already on July 9, ODNI Director Avril Haines issued a statement describing Iranian influence activities focused on the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“As I noted in testimony to the Congress in May,” she said, “Iran is becoming increasingly aggressive in their foreign influence efforts, seeking to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.”
Iranian officials have done this in the past, she explained, and “it is likely they will continue to rely on their intelligence services in these efforts, as well as Iran-based online influencers, to promote their narratives.”
“In recent weeks, Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza,” she continued. “We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters.”
While Haines affirmed the right of Americans to express their political views, including their right to protest, she also cautioned that they might well not understand how they are being exploited by Tehran.
Iran Making “Greater Effort than in the Past”
“The IC assesses that Iran is making a greater effort than in the past to influence this year’s election,” the ODNI said in a statement published on Sept. 6.
“Beyond attempts to hack and leak information,” it stated, “Iran is conducting covert social media operations using fake personas and using AI [artificial intelligence] to help publish inauthentic news articles.”
The same report did note, however, that “Russia poses the most active foreign influence threat in this year’s elections.”
Although Russia and Iran are aligned in many respects, including Iran’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, they support two different parties in the U.S. elections.
Moscow would like to see the re-election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, but Tehran’s preference is the opposite, and its influence operations aim at undermining Trump, while supporting Kamala Harris.