Iran Trying to Undermine Trump Ahead of Election

Iran is using a covert influence campaign in an attempt to undermine Donald Trump's candidacy ahead of the US presidential election in November, according to intel from US spy agencies. Tehran reportedly believes a Trump win would be worse for US-Iran relations than the alternative, the Wall Street Journal reports. Per CNN, the country is using "covert social media activity and related influence operations" in an attempt to influence the election. US spy agencies have not directly said Iran is looking to undercut Trump, but they said they have detected no shift in the country's preferences since the 2020 election, when it did want to hurt Trump's candidacy.

The briefing organized by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security gave an overview of the "disinformation landscape" ahead of the election, the Washington Post reports. Russia, which is still seen as the biggest threat with the most sophisticated operations, is also not seen as having shifted its stance since the 2020 election, when it wanted Trump to win. Russia's preference is the candidate least likely to support military aid to Ukraine. The briefing also touched on China, which officials say is unlikely to attempt to influence the election. (More Election 2024 stories.)