First appeared on FOX: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner called on President Biden to take “immediate and strong action” against Iran after intelligence agencies determined the Iranian regime is “actively” trying to influence the 2024 presidential election, saying the Biden administration's response has been “dangerously inadequate.”
Turner, a Republican from Ohio, expressed “deep concerns” about Iran's activities in a letter to President Biden obtained by Fox News Digital.
Iran 'increasingly aggressive' operations targeting US presidential elections: intelligence community
“The FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies have clearly demonstrated that Iran is engaged in a coordinated operation to undermine the integrity of the U.S. democratic process,” Turner wrote. “Furthermore, evidence suggests that over the past several months, multiple individuals with ties to the Iranian government were involved in plots to carry out political assassinations in the United States against former President Trump and members of his administration.”
Turner said that despite “the seriousness of these threats,” the Biden-Harris administration's response has been “dangerously inadequate.”
“Failing to confront Iran firmly not only undermines the security of our electoral systems, but also emboldens other adversaries who seek to exploit this weakness,” Turner wrote, adding that allowing Iran to “continue its disinformation and attacks not only strengthens a rogue regime, but also puts American lives at unacceptable risk.”
Turner called on Biden to take “immediate and strong action” to counter the Iranian threat.
“Your administration must develop a comprehensive strategy to protect our elections and protect our people,” Turner wrote. “Our national security and the integrity of our democracy depend on a strong and aggressive response.”
Turner's letter came just days after intelligence agencies said they were “engaging in increasingly aggressive Iranian activities,” including influence operations targeting American citizens and presidential campaigns during the 2024 election cycle.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said Monday: Iran “They seek to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.”
“Iran has long demonstrated an interest in exploiting societal tensions through a variety of means, including through the use of cyber operations to attempt to obtain sensitive information about U.S. elections,” the agencies said in a joint statement. “In addition to these ongoing efforts to complicate the U.S. government's ability to pursue a foreign policy that is at odds with Iran's interests, the IC has previously Iran perceives this year's elections as particularly significant in terms of the impact they will have on its national security interests, and is increasingly seeking to influence the outcome.”
Intelligence agencies said they have observed “increasingly aggressive Iranian activity” during the 2024 election period, specifically “influence operations targeting American citizens and cyber activity targeting the presidential campaign.”
“This includes recently reported efforts to undermine former President Trump's campaign, which the IC attributes to Iran,” they said.
The FBI is investigating Iranian cyber-hacking attempts against the President Trump campaign after Politico began obtaining internal Trump campaign documents.
The Trump campaign argued that the documents were obtained “illegally from sources hostile to the United States” and were “intended to interfere in the 2024 election and to sow chaos throughout the Democratic electoral process.”
FBI investigating Iran hack of Trump campaign documents
In June 2024, Iranian hackers broke into the accounts of “senior officials” in the Trump campaign.
The Iranian hack comes “following recent reports that Iran was plotting to assassinate President Trump around the same time as the tragedy in Butler, Pennsylvania.”
“Iran knows that President Trump will end their reign of terror just as he did during his first four years in the White House,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Chang told Fox News Digital. “Media outlets and outlets that reprint documents and internal communications are following the orders of America's enemies and doing exactly what they want.”
But he said intelligence agencies “confidently believe Iran has sought access, through social engineering and other means, to individuals with direct access to presidential campaigns of both political parties.”
“These activities, including theft and disclosure, are intended to influence the U.S. electoral process. It is important to note that this technique is not new,” they said. “Iran and Russia have employed these tactics not only in the United States during this and past federal elections, but in other countries around the world.”
FBI investigating Iran hack of Trump campaign documents
“Protecting the integrity of our elections from foreign influence and interference is our top priority,” officials said.
“The FBI, which leads the response to this threat, has tracked this activity, is in contact with victims, and will continue to investigate and gather intelligence to pursue and disrupt those responsible for these threats,” they said. “We will not tolerate foreign attempts to influence or interfere in our elections, including by targeting U.S. political campaigns.”
The intelligence community said it would work closely with public and private sector partners “to share information, enhance security, and identify and thwart any threats.”
2024 Presidential Election and Vice Presidential Election Kamala Harris The company told Fox News that it “closely monitors and defends against cyber threats and is not aware of any security breaches of our systems.”
Iran has long been suspected of conducting hacking campaigns targeting its enemies in the Middle East and elsewhere, and Tehran has long threatened to retaliate for the killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike ordered by President Trump in 2020.
“Foreign malign influence efforts regarding the 2024 U.S. elections began slowly, initially driven by Russian activity, but have steadily gained momentum over the past six months, and more recently, driven by Iranian activity,” Microsoft said in the report.
The analysis continues: “Iranian cyber influence operations have been a consistent feature of at least the past three U.S. election cycles. Iranian activity is distinctive from Russian activity in that it emerged later in the election season and launched cyber attacks that were focused on electioneering rather than voter mobilization.”
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“Recent activity suggests that the Iranian regime, as well as the Kremlin, may be interfering with the 2024 elections,” Microsoft concluded.
