US Intelligence Claims Iran is attempting to Damage Trump’s Presidential Campaign

(CTN News) –  According to a press conference on Monday, U.S. intelligence authorities think Iran is attempting to use internet influence operations to harm former President Trump’s presidential campaign.

U.S. spy agencies “observed Tehran working to influence the presidential election,” an Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) official told reporters, perhaps because Iranian officials don’t want to see tensions with the U.S. rise.

Iran was still aiming for Trump, even if the source refrained from explicitly stating that Iran was seeking to destabilise Trump, saying instead that American spies “haven’t observed a shift in Iran’s preferences” since 2020.

Iran is using “vast webs of online personas and propaganda mills to spread disinformation,” in addition to other internet activities, an intelligence officer said during the briefing.

Fox News Digital received a denial from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN on claims of election meddling. “Iran does not engage in any objectives or activities intended to influence the U.S. election,” claimed a spokeswoman. ”

A significant portion of such accusations are characterized by psychological operations designed to artificially pep up election campaigns.” Tehran was charged earlier in July with another plan to murder Trump after the former president’s shooting death on July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Permanent Mission said shortly after the accusations were made that they were “unsubstantiated and malicious.” At the time, the permanent envoy told Fox News Digital, “From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Trump is a criminal who must be prosecuted and punished in a court of law for ordering the assassination of General Soleimani.”

“Iran has chosen the legal path to bring him to justice.”

Several foreign countries have been accused of interference in the 2024 presidential election, not only Iran. Russia was referred to as the “preeminent threat” to the election by ODNI officials on July 10.

An intelligence officer said at the July 10 briefing that Russia is “undertaking a whole-of-government approach to influence the election, including the presidential race, Congress, and public opinion,” and that Russia has become “more sophisticated” in its election meddling.

When it comes to US elections, the nation usually attacks the Democratic Party.

In addition to other goals, the Kremlin targets the Democratic Party to weaken US support for Ukraine, according to the Director of National Intelligence’s most recent assessment of Russia.

“We assess that the Russian government and its proxies sought to denigrate the Democratic Party before the midterms and undermine confidence in the election, most likely to weaken U.S. support for Ukraine, and to erode trust in U.S. democratic institutions,” according to the assessment.

Russia is also utilising artificial intelligence to replicate American Southern and Midwestern accents on social media, according to the July 10 ODNI briefing.

“Foreign adversaries continue to experiment with and have adopted at least some generative AI tools to more quickly and cheaply generate authentic looking content tailored primarily for social media platforms that can target specific audiences, including those in the U.S.,” a spokesperson for the ODNI said.

Source: Yahoo News