WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign said on Saturday some of its internal communications were hacked and blamed the Iranian government, citing past hostilities between Trump and Iran without providing direct evidence.

The Republican’s campaign statement came shortly after news website Politico reported it had begun receiving emails in July from an anonymous source offering authentic documents from inside Trump’s operation, including a report about running mate JD Vance’s “potential vulnerabilities.”

“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,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.

Reuters has not independently verified the identity of the alleged hackers or their motivation.

Biden to hold rallies for Harris in Pennsylvania; calls ex-president ‘genuine threat to US security’

The Trump campaign referred to a Friday report from Microsoft researchers that said Iranian government-tied hackers tried breaking into the account of a “high-ranking official” on a US presidential campaign in June.

The hackers had taken over an account belonging to a former political advisor and then used it to target the official, the report said. That report did not provide further details on the targets’ identities.

A Microsoft spokesperson declined to name the targeted officials or provide additional details after the report was published.

Iran’s permanent mission to the UN in New York said in an email that “the Iranian government neither possesses nor harbours any intent or motive to interfere in the US presidential election.”

On Friday, in response to Microsoft’s findings, Iran’s UN mission told Reuters its cyber capabilities were “defensive and proportionate to the threats it faces” and that it had no plans to launch cyberattacks.

The former president had tense relations with Iran while in office. Under Trump, the United States killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020 and withdrew from a multilateral Iran nuclear deal.

Campaigning for Harris

Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, has also found the support of US President Joe Biden, who said on Sunday that he would campaign for the Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in November’s presidential election.

“I’m going to do whatever Kamala thinks I can do to help most,” he told CBS News in a pre-taped interview broadcast on Sunday. In the interview, Biden warned that Republican candidate Donald Trump was “a genuine danger to American security.”

“Mark my words, if he wins... this election, watch what happens,” Biden told CBS News in a pre-taped interview broadcast on Sunday.

“He’s a genuine danger to American security. Look, we’re at an inflection point in world history... and democracy is the key.”

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2024