Iran may fear a victory by Donald Trump would inflame relations with the United States and is thus trying to harm his presidential campaign in covert online influence operations, U.S. intelligence officials said Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Although Tehran remains primarily focused on fueling distrust in U.S. political institutions and increasing social discord, especially over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, officials said Iran is also engaging in secret online campaigns reflecting a preference for who wins in November.
The officials did not say directly that Iran was trying to undermine Trump, but asserted that its current operations aligned with its goals before the 2020 election, when it attempted to harm Trump's candidacy, according to The Wall street Journal.
U.S. intelligence officials reiterated on Monday, however, that Russia remained the greatest threat to the election and is the most sophisticated in its influence operations.
Official added that Moscow continues to favor Trump, because Russian President Vladimir Putin's top goal remained opposing candidates he believed would more likely favor additional military aid for Ukraine.
President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential election and the increasing likelihood of Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee has not appeared to change either Russia's or Iran's thinking about the American election, officials said.
Tehran's influence activities include attempts to directly engage Americans, officials said, with some of it likely directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization that operates under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Biden administration in recent weeks determined there was an increased threat from Iran against Trump that was serious enough to provide additional security measures for the former president, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
However, U.S. officials said that the threat had no apparent connection to the attempted assassination of the former president earlier this month in Pennsylvania.