US Intelligence: Iran Seeks to Undermine Trump Ahead of Election

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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US Intelligence: Iran Seeks to Undermine Trump Ahead of Election

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Iran is working to undermine Donald Trump’s bid to regain the White House, US intelligence officials signaled Monday.

In a briefing for reporters organized by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, officials alluded to but stopped short of directly stating Tehran’s opposition to Trump.

A senior intelligence official said that Tehran and Moscow maintain their same presidential preferences as in past cycles, whereas Iranian operatives are attempting to tear down the Republican ticket while Russia has made efforts to smear the Democrats, according to prior intelligence community assessments.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations denied in an email that Iran engages in any "activities intended to influence the US election" and said that many such accusations are "characterized by psychological operations designed to artificially pep up election campaigns."
The Russian embassy did not respond immediately to a request for comment.



Flash Flooding Triggered by Heavy Monsoons in Northwest Pakistan Kills at Least 14 People 

Rescue workers clean the basement of a house damaged by flash flood waters in Darra Adamkhel, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on July 30, 2024. (AFP)
Rescue workers clean the basement of a house damaged by flash flood waters in Darra Adamkhel, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on July 30, 2024. (AFP)
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Flash Flooding Triggered by Heavy Monsoons in Northwest Pakistan Kills at Least 14 People 

Rescue workers clean the basement of a house damaged by flash flood waters in Darra Adamkhel, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on July 30, 2024. (AFP)
Rescue workers clean the basement of a house damaged by flash flood waters in Darra Adamkhel, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on July 30, 2024. (AFP)

Heavy monsoons in northwest Pakistan triggered flash flooding, killing at least 14 people, 11 from the same family, officials said Tuesday.

The rains in Kohat, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, flooded the basement of a house where the family slept, Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for emergency services said, adding they retrieved the bodies of a man, three women, six children, and an 11-month-old baby girl.

He said three others died in the districts of Hangu and Bajur in the same province.

Pakistan has been hit by heavy rains since early July, killing more than 60 people and damaging over 250 homes, mostly in the eastern Punjab and southwestern Baluchistan province.

Authorities warned the rains are likely to cause flash flooding next week in various parts of the country.

Still, weather forecasters say the country will receive less rain as compared to 2022 when the climate-induced downpour swelled rivers and inundated at one point one-third of Pakistan , killing 1,739, displacing nearly 8 million, and causing $30 billion in damage in the cash-strapped country.

Every year, many cities in Pakistan struggle with the annual monsoon deluge, from July through September, drawing criticism for poor government planning. The South Asian country is among the most vulnerable to climate change.