DOJ Charges Three Iranian Operatives for Hacking Trump Campaign

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced criminal charges on Friday, September 27, against three individuals linked to Iran for targeting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. The accused, identified as Masoud Jalili, Yaser Balaghi, and Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, are suspected to have ties to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The charges include conspiracy to access a protected computer, fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, along with eight counts of wire fraud.

According to the unsealed indictment, the trio sought to influence the U.S. presidential election by accessing confidential information from Trump’s campaign. On August 10, Trump’s campaign claimed it had been hacked, blaming Iranian actors. News outlets such as Politico, the New York Times, and the Washington Post were reportedly given leaked information but declined to publish it.

Last week, U.S. intelligence officials disclosed that the same operatives also attempted to reach Joe Biden’s campaign in June and July. They sent unsolicited emails containing excerpts of stolen material from Trump’s campaign, though there was no evidence that Biden’s team responded to the messages. The campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris considered the emails to be spam or phishing attempts.

Iran has denied any involvement in the U.S. elections. A statement from Iran’s mission to the United Nations, quoted by CBS News, stated that “the Islamic Republic of Iran does not engage in the internal conflicts or electoral controversies of the United States,” and firmly denied any intent or motive to interfere in the U.S. election.