U.S. intelligence officials believe Iran is trying to disrupt former President Trump’s presidential campaign through online influence tactics, according to a press briefing on Monday.
An official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) told reporters that US intelligence agencies are “observing Iran’s efforts to influence the presidential election,” likely because Iranian leaders want to avoid escalating tensions with the US.
The official did not directly say Iran was trying to undermine Trump, but said U.S. intelligence officials have “not observed any change in Iranian preferences” since 2020, meaning Iran is still targeting Trump.
During the briefing, the intelligence official also said that Iran is using “a vast network of online personalities and propaganda factories to spread disinformation,” in addition to various online campaigns.
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US intelligence agencies believe Iran is interfering in the 2024 elections. (Getty Images)
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations denied the allegations of election interference to Fox News Digital.
“Iran has not engaged in any objectives or activities intended to influence U.S. elections,” the spokesman said. “A significant portion of these accusations are characterized as psychological operations designed to artificially boost an election campaign.”
Earlier in July, Iran was accused of hatching another plot to kill Trump after a gunman shot and killed the former president at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Shortly after the allegations emerged, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran said the allegations were “baseless and malicious.”
“From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Trump is a criminal who should be prosecuted and punished in court for ordering the assassination of General Soleimani,” the Iranian mission told Fox News Digital at the time. “Iran has chosen the legal path to bring Mr. Trump to justice.”
Iran isn’t the only foreign adversary accused of meddling in the 2024 presidential election. On July 10, ODNI officials called Russia the “greatest threat” to the election.
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended a meeting with a group of students in Tehran, Iran on November 1. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via The Associated Press)
Russia is “engaging in whole-of-government efforts to influence elections, including the presidential race, Congress and public opinion,” intelligence officials said in a July 10 briefing, adding that Russian election interference has “become more sophisticated.” Russia typically targets Democrats in U.S. elections.
The director of national intelligence’s latest report on Russia said the Kremlin is targeting Democrats for reasons including undermining U.S. support for Ukraine.
“We assess that the Russian government and its proxies sought to smear Democrats ahead of the midterm elections and undermine confidence in the elections, possibly to undermine U.S. support for Ukraine and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions,” the report said.
Russia is also reportedly using artificial intelligence to imitate Southern and Midwestern accents on social media, according to a July 10 ODNI briefing.
“Foreign adversaries continue to experiment with and are adopting at least some generative AI tools to more quickly and cheaply generate customized, lifelike content for social media platforms that can target specific audiences, including the United States,” ODNI officials said.
Former President Trump shakes hands with vice presidential candidate Senator J.D. Vance at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan, Louis Casiano and David Spunt contributed to this report.
