Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has slammed the White House after recent intelligence reports found the Iranian government was trying to undermine former President Trump’s presidential campaign, arguing that the Biden-Harris administration’s policy of “weakness and appeasement” is strengthening Tehran.
The findings were revealed at a press conference by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on Monday. Officials said US intelligence had “observed Tehran attempting to influence the presidential election,” likely because Iran’s leaders want to avoid escalating conflict with the US.
The Iranian government is said to be using a “vast network of online personalities and propaganda factories” to spread disinformation. While ODNI did not specifically say that Iran was targeting Trump, officials said they had “not observed any changes in Iranian preferences” since 2020, meaning Iran is still targeting Republican candidates.
Pompeo told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that he wasn’t surprised that Iran was trying to influence the election. The Fox News contributor described Iran as “isolated, bankrupt and weakened” when he left office in January 2021, and accused the Biden administration of supporting the Iranian regime.
Iran trying to disrupt Trump campaign: U.S. intelligence
Mike Pompeo told Fox News Digital that it was “not surprising” that Iran would target the Trump campaign. (Getty Images)
“It is not surprising that the Iranian regime will try everything in its power to prevent a return to power for the Trump administration,” Pompeo said.
“Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris administration is pursuing a policy of weakening and appeasement, which has resulted in Iran once again becoming flush with cash and empowered.
The former secretary of state also said Iran has “contempt” for American values and expects it to continue interfering in the 2024 presidential election.
“The United States will continue the same weak policies and interfere in our democracy in any way possible to help Kamala Harris keep her administration rich and powerful,” Pompeo added.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Permanent Mission in Iran on Monday denied the allegations of interference.
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Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump appears on stage with his wife Melania Trump and other family members at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 18. (AP Photo/Julia Nickinson)
“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.”
Tehran also Another plot to kill Trump The Iranian government denounced the allegations as “baseless and malicious” after a gunman shot and killed the former president at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
At a joint hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said authorities were “not ruling out anything” possible Iranian involvement.
An election official sits in front of a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ahead of last month’s presidential election at the Ministry of Interior in Tehran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
“We have no intelligence that there are any foreign or domestic conspirators, including Iran, involved in this matter, but let me be clear: we do not have evidence of that,” Abbate explained. “We are not ruling anything out. We are considering all possibilities and will keep an open mind.”
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.
