The campaign of Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump announced on Saturday that some of its internal communications had been hacked, pointing fingers at the Iranian government. The accusation, however, was made without providing direct evidence, instead citing the historically strained relations between Trump and Iran.
This announcement followed a report by Politico, which disclosed that it had been receiving emails from an anonymous source since July. The emails allegedly contained authentic documents from within Trump’s campaign, including a report on potential vulnerabilities of his running mate, JD Vance.
“These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the US, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our democratic process,” stated Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung.
'Iran targets US election with hackers, says Microsoft'
It is pertinent to note that the Trump campaign's statement referenced a recently relased report by Microsoft researchers, which claimed that hackers linked to the Iranian government had attempted to breach the account of a "high-ranking official" in a US presidential campaign in June. According to the report, the hackers first compromised the account of a former political advisor and then used it to target the official. Specific details about the targets' identities were not disclosed.
Moreover, while, Microsoft did not provide further information about the hackers, the Iran’s mission to the UN in New York on the allegations by the tech giant said that its cyber capabilities are "defensive and proportionate to the threats it faces" and stated that Iran has no intention of launching cyberattacks.
“The US presidential election is an internal matter in which Iran does not interfere,” asserted Iran’s mission to the UN.
'US-Iran brewing tensions'
Significantly, tensions continue to swirl around Trump and Iran, as during his (Trump's) first administration, the US assassinated Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020 and withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal.
“The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House,” Cheung commented.
(With inputs from agencies)
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