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Trump Campaign Says it Was Hacked, Blames Iran

Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, US, August 9, 2024. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, US, August 9, 2024. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo
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Trump Campaign Says it Was Hacked, Blames Iran

Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, US, August 9, 2024. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, US, August 9, 2024. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo

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 United States, 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.
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 United Nations in New York said in an email that "the Iranian government neither possesses nor harbors any intent or motive to interfere in the United States presidential election."
"We do not accord any credence to such reports," it added in response to the Trump campaign's allegations.
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.
"The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House," Cheung said.
Trump survived an assassination attempt in July. While there have been no suggestions that the suspect was linked to Iran, CNN reported last month that the US had intelligence about an Iranian plot against Trump. Iran has denied such charges.
Late last month, a senior intelligence official told reporters in a briefing that Tehran and Moscow maintain their same presidential preferences as in past cycles, where Iranian operatives will attempt to tear down the Republican ticket while Russia has made efforts to smear Democrats, according to prior intelligence community assessments.

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World

Iran’s President Says Answer to Attack Would Be Harsh in Apparent Response to Trump Warning

Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, attends the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, on Sept. 25, 2025. (AP)
Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, attends the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, on Sept. 25, 2025. (AP)
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Iran’s President Says Answer to Attack Would Be Harsh in Apparent Response to Trump Warning

Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, attends the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, on Sept. 25, 2025. (AP)
Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, attends the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, on Sept. 25, 2025. (AP)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday said his country’s answer to an attack would be harsh, which appeared to be in response to a warning by US President Donald Trump over reconstruction of Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran’s answer “to any cruel aggression will be harsh and discouraging,” Pezeshkian said on the social media platform X.

Pezeshkian did not elaborate, but his statement came a day after Trump suggested the US could carry out military strikes if Iran attempts to reconstitute its nuclear program. Trump made the comment during wide-ranging talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

“Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again,” Trump said during a news conference with Netanyahu after their meeting. “And if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down. We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them. But hopefully that’s not happening.”

The two leaders discussed the possibility of renewed military action against Tehran months after a 12-day air war in June that killed nearly 1,100 Iranians including senior military commanders and scientists. Iran’s retaliatory missile barrage killed 28 people in Israel.

Trump suggested Monday that he could order another US strike against Iran.

“If it’s confirmed, they know the consequences, and the consequences will be very powerful, maybe more powerful than the last time,” Trump said.

Pezeshkian said Saturday that tensions between the sides already had risen.

“We are in a full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe; they don’t want our country to remain stable,” he said.

Iran has insisted it is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program.

US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency assessed Iran last had an organized nuclear weapons program in 2003, though Tehran had been enriching uranium up to 60%, which is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Meanwhile, some of the largest protests in three years entered a third day Tuesday after the country’s currency plummeted to a record low against the US dollar. The head of the Central Bank resigned on Monday.

According to witnesses and videos on social media, rallies took place in Tehran and other cities and towns. Police fired tear gas in some places. Near a market in downtown Tehran, footage showed people pushing back police and security forces and throwing stones at them.

University students also rallied inside campuses on Tehran University and other major universities, witnesses said.

Pezeshkian met a group of businessmen to listen to their demands, media reported.

"The administration will not spare any effort for solving problems and improving situation of the society,” Pezeshkian said. He also assigned Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni for talks with protesters.

The head of the country’s tax department, Mohammad Hadi Sobhanian, also said the government will revise its tax arrangement in favor of businesses, dropping penalties for delay in paying taxes.

The government announced the closure of offices and banks on Wednesday for managing energy consumption during the winter days, to be followed by weekly holidays on Thursday and Friday. Saturday also is a religious holiday in the country.

World

Ukraine Says No Evidence It Attacked Putin Residence

28 December 2025, US, Palm Beach: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump following their talks at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. (Ukrainian Presidency/dpa)
28 December 2025, US, Palm Beach: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump following their talks at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. (Ukrainian Presidency/dpa)
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Ukraine Says No Evidence It Attacked Putin Residence

28 December 2025, US, Palm Beach: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump following their talks at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. (Ukrainian Presidency/dpa)
28 December 2025, US, Palm Beach: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump following their talks at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. (Ukrainian Presidency/dpa)

Ukraine said Tuesday there was no "plausible" evidence it launched a drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's residences, accusing Moscow of peddling falsehoods to manipulate talks on ending the war.

Ukraine's allies have expressed skepticism about Russia's claim.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for "transparency", while a French presidential source described the Kremlin's statements as an "act of defiance" against US President Donald Trump's efforts to broker peace.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has called Russia's claim a "complete fabrication", said he would meet with leaders of Kyiv's allies on January 6 in France in a bid to renew peace efforts.

In comments to journalists on Tuesday, the Ukrainian leader repeated his assertion that the attack was faked and called on partners to verify this.

"Our negotiating team connected with the American team, they went through the details, and we understand that it's fake," he said.

The Kremlin said Tuesday it considered the alleged drone attack on Putin's secluded residence in the Novgorod region to be a "terrorist act" and a "personal attack against Putin".

But it said it could not provide evidence for its claim as the drones were "all shot down".

It also said the Russian army had chosen "how, when and where" to retaliate against Ukraine, and that Moscow would now "toughen" its negotiating position in talks to end Europe's worst conflict since World War Two.

Russia has hit Ukraine with an almost daily barrage of drones and missiles for almost four years, killing thousands.

- European leaders rally around Ukraine -

European leaders rallied around Ukraine following Moscow's allegation. Zelensky said a summit of the so-called "coalition of the willing" -- a group of Western countries that have pledged further support for Ukraine -- would take place on January 6 in France.

The summit would be preceded by a meeting of security advisors from the allied countries, Zelensky said on X, adding: "We are planning it for January 3 in Ukraine."

Germany's Merz said on social media that Kyiv's allies were "moving the peace process forward. Transparency and honesty are now required from everyone -- including Russia."

But US President Donald Trump -- who spoke to Putin on Monday -- directed criticism at Kyiv on Monday, despite Ukraine calling the incident staged.

"You know who told me about it? President Putin, early in the morning, he said he was attacked. It's no good," Trump said.

"It's one thing to be offensive because they're offensive. It's another thing to attack his house," the US leader said.

Moscow has not said where Putin was at the time.

The longtime Russian leader's residences are shrouded in secrecy in Russia -- as is much of his private life.

- Secretive residence -

The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last year, had published investigations into Putin's luxury lake-side residence in the Novgorod region.

Putin had been increasingly using the residence since the Ukraine war began, as it is more secluded and better protected by air defense installations, according to an investigation by RFE/RL.

Moscow's allegation comes at a pivotal moment for diplomacy to end the war.

Ukraine has said it has agreed to 90 percent of a US-drafted peace plan, but Russia has been hesitant to accept a deal that does not meet its maximalist demands.

Putin has repeatedly said that Russia intends to seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian if diplomacy fails.

Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine picked up pace in autumn, with Moscow's troops seizing more villages with every week since.

Ukraine's navy on Tuesday blamed Russia for drone attacks on two civilian vessels in the Odesa region that Russia has been battering with strikes in the past weeks.

Ukraine on Tuesday also ordered the mandatory evacuation of several villages in the northern Chernigiv region, which borders Moscow-allied Belarus, due to intense Russian shelling.

World

Thousands of Somalis Protest Israeli Recognition of Somaliland

This picture taken on November 7, 2024 shows a general view of the city of Hargeisa, capital and largest city of the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland. (Photo by LUIS TATO / AFP)
This picture taken on November 7, 2024 shows a general view of the city of Hargeisa, capital and largest city of the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland. (Photo by LUIS TATO / AFP)
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Thousands of Somalis Protest Israeli Recognition of Somaliland

This picture taken on November 7, 2024 shows a general view of the city of Hargeisa, capital and largest city of the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland. (Photo by LUIS TATO / AFP)
This picture taken on November 7, 2024 shows a general view of the city of Hargeisa, capital and largest city of the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland. (Photo by LUIS TATO / AFP)

Large protests broke out in several towns and cities across Somalia on Tuesday in opposition to Israel's recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Israel announced on Friday that it viewed Somaliland -- which declared independence in 1991 but has never been recognized by any other country -- as an "independent and sovereign state".

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has condemned the move as a threat to stability in the Horn of Africa. He travelled Tuesday to Türkiye, a close ally, to discuss the situation, AFP reported.

Thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Somali capital Mogadishu and gathered at a stadium, waving placards with anti-Israeli slogans alongside Somali and Palestinian flags.

"We will never allow anyone to violate our sovereignty," one attendee, Adan Muhidin, told AFP, adding that Israel's move was "a blatant violation of international law".

Demonstrations also took place in Lascanod in the northeast, Guriceel in central Somalia, and Baidoa in the southwest.

"There is nothing we have in common with Israel. We say to the people of Somaliland, don't bring them close to you," said Sheikh Ahmed Moalim, a local religious leader, in Guriceel.

Somaliland has long been a haven of stability and democracy in the conflict-scarred country, with its own money, passport and army.

It also has a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden that makes it an attractive trade and military partner for regional and international allies.

But Israel's decision to recognize its statehood has brought rebukes from across the Muslim and African world, with many fearing it will stoke conflict and division.

There have been celebrations in Somaliland's capital Hargeisa, with the rare sight of Israeli flags being waved in a Muslim-majority nation.