Iran working to undermine Trump presidential campaign – report

US intelligence official reveals Iran working to prevent Trump from being elected in this November’s election.

By World Israel News Staff

The Iranian government is working to undermine former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, a U.S. intelligence official said Monday, utilizing covery social media activity and broad efforts to influence American popular opinion.

On Monday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released a statement accusing Tehran of “continuing efforts to fuel distrust in U.S. political institutions and increase social discord.”

In addition, the ODNI report said that the U.S. intelligence community has monitored efforts by Iran to influence the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, without mentioning Trump by name.

The U.S., the ODNI said, “has observed Tehran working to influence the presidential election, probably because Iranian leaders want to avoid an outcome they perceive would increase tensions with the United States.”

“Tehran relies on vast webs of online personas and propaganda mills to spread disinformation and have notably been active in exacerbating tensions over the Israel-Gaza conflict.”

According to a report by CNN on Monday, an official from the ODNI said explicitly in response to questions that Iran is working to “undercut” Trump’s campaign.

Citing a declassified intelligence report, the official said Iran has “carried out a multi-pronged covert influence campaign intended to undercut former President Trump’s reelection prospects.”

Responding to the report, Iran told CNN that Tehran “does not engage in any objectives or activities intended to influence the U.S. election.”

“A significant portion of such accusations are characterized by psychological operations designed to artificially pep up election campaigns.”

Monday’s report by the ODNI maintained that Russia “remains the predominant threat to U.S. elections,” citing Moscow’s use of “influence-for-hire” companies specializing in influencing American audiences.