When the FBI recently revealed that Iran attempted to provide Democrats with material stolen from Donald Trump’s campaign, it highlighted the ongoing issue of foreign interference in the US election. The 2024 presidential campaign is facing various attempts by adversaries to undermine faith in the election results. While Iran’s actions have drawn attention, Russia remains considered the most significant threat by officials.
The Biden administration has been active in calling out these operations to raise awareness among Americans about the widespread and often covert foreign efforts to influence public opinion on critical issues and candidates. Iran is alleged to have hacked the Trump campaign and tried to distribute the stolen internal communications. They also sought access to the Democratic presidential campaign, although there is no evidence that these attempts were successful.
In a recent development, intelligence officials disclosed that Iranian operatives offered information stolen from the Trump campaign to individuals associated with the Biden campaign. The FBI reported that some Biden campaign associates received unsolicited emails containing excerpts from stolen material from the Trump campaign. This operation resembled the Russian election interference aimed at benefitting Trump in the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton.
Despite these attempts, there is no indication that anyone from the Biden or Harris campaigns sought to use the stolen material. Trump falsely claimed on his platform Truth Social that the Harris campaign was caught “illegally spying” on him. This unfounded accusation follows Trump’s repeated claims of election interference, notably related to the Russia investigation in 2016.
US intelligence officials believe Iran’s goal is to sow discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in the election, which Tehran sees as crucial for its security interests. The US government has previously linked Iran to covert campaigns aimed at influencing US elections, particularly targeting Trump’s administration due to heightened tensions between the countries.
Despite the focus on Iran, Russia is still viewed as the primary threat to the election’s integrity. The Justice Department recently unveiled criminal cases exposing Russia’s efforts to influence the election. These cases involved activities such as funneling money through shell companies to fund pro-Russia media content and producing AI-generated content on fake news websites posing as legitimate sources.