Former President Donald Trump has accused the Iranian government of hacking into his 2024 presidential campaign’s internal communications. The accusations come after reports emerged that anonymous sources had begun offering allegedly authentic documents from within Trump's campaign to news outlets.
In a statement, Trump’s campaign attributed the breach to foreign interference, specifically pointing fingers at Iran. "These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process," campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said.
Trump, who has had a history of strained relations with Iran during his presidency, took to his Truth Social platform, claiming that Microsoft had informed his campaign that Iranian hackers had compromised one of their websites. He downplayed the severity of the breach, stating that only publicly available information was accessed.
The Trump campaign's accusations align with a recent Microsoft report, which identified an Iranian government-linked hacking attempt targeting a high-ranking official in a U.S. presidential campaign. The report indicated that the hackers initially took control of a former political advisor's account and then used it to target the official.
In response, Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations dismissed the allegations, asserting that the Iranian government has no intent or motive to interfere in the U.S. presidential election. Iran's U.N. mission reiterated that its cyber capabilities are defensive and proportionate to the threats it faces.
Trump’s tensions with Iran date back to his presidency when he ordered the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020 and withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal. The latest allegations add to the ongoing friction, though Iran has firmly denied any involvement in the reported hacking attempts.
These developments follow an assassination attempt on Trump in July, though there have been no direct links to Iran. However, reports last month suggested that U.S. intelligence had uncovered a potential Iranian plot against Trump, further fueling the contentious relations between the two parties.
