Report: US Preparing Criminal Charges in Iran Hack Targeting Trump 

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pauses while speaking during a campaign event at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pauses while speaking during a campaign event at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP)
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Report: US Preparing Criminal Charges in Iran Hack Targeting Trump 

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pauses while speaking during a campaign event at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pauses while speaking during a campaign event at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP)

The Justice Department is preparing criminal charges in connection with an Iranian hack that targeted Donald Trump's presidential campaign in a bid to shape the outcome of the November election, two people familiar with the matter said Thursday.

It was not immediately clear when the charges might be announced or whom precisely they will target, but they are the result of an FBI investigation into an intrusion that investigators across multiple agencies quickly linked to an Iranian effort to influence American politics.

The prospect of criminal charges comes as the Justice Department has raised alarms about aggressive efforts by countries including Russia and Iran to meddle in the presidential election between Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, including by hacking and covert social media campaigns designed to shape public opinion.

Iran “is making a greater effort to influence this year’s election than it has in prior election cycles and that Iranian activity is growing increasingly aggressive as this election nears,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the Justice Department's top national security official, said in a speech Thursday in New York City.

“Iran perceives this year’s elections to be particularly consequential in impacting Iran’s national security interests, increasing Tehran’s inclination to try to shape the outcome,” he added.

The Trump campaign disclosed on Aug. 10 that it had been hacked and said Iranian actors had stolen and distributed sensitive internal documents. At least three news outlets — Politico, The New York Times and The Washington Post — were leaked confidential material from inside the Trump campaign. So far, each has refused to reveal any details about what it received.

Politico reported that it began receiving emails on July 22 from an anonymous account. The source — an AOL email account identified only as “Robert” — passed along what appeared to be a research dossier that the campaign had apparently done on the Republican vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. The document was dated Feb. 23, almost five months before Trump selected Vance as his running mate.

The FBI, the office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency subsequently blamed that hack, as well as an attempted breach of the Biden-Harris campaign, on Iran.

Those agencies issued a statement saying that the hacking and similar activities were meant to sow discord, exploit divisions within American society and influence the outcome of elections.

The statement did not identify whether Iran has a preferred candidate, though Tehran has long appeared determined to seek retaliation for a 2020 strike Trump ordered as president that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

The two people who discussed the looming criminal charges spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they were not authorized to speak publicly about a case that had not yet been unsealed.

The Washington Post first reported that charges were being prepared.

Justice Department officials have been working to publicly call out and counter election interference efforts. The response is a contrast to 2016, when Obama administration officials were far more circumspect about Russian interference they were watching that was designed to boost Trump's campaign.

“We have learned that transparency about what we are seeing is critical,” Olsen, the Justice Department official, said Thursday.

“It helps ensure that our citizens are aware of the attempts of foreign government to sow discord and spread falsehoods — all of which promotes resilience within our electorate,” he added. “It provides warnings to our private sector so they can better protect their networks. And it sends an unmistakable message to our adversaries — we’ve gained insight into your networks, we know what you’re doing, and we are determined to hold you accountable.”

Last week, in an effort to combat disinformation ahead of the election, the Justice Department charged two employees of RT, a Russian state media company, with covertly funneling a Tennessee-based content creation company nearly $10 million to publish English-language videos on social media platforms with messages in favor of the Russia government’s interests and agenda.



Iran Turns to Moscow and Beijing to Thwart ‘Snapback’ Sanctions Threat

Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi met in Beijing on July 13 (Reuters)
Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi met in Beijing on July 13 (Reuters)
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Iran Turns to Moscow and Beijing to Thwart ‘Snapback’ Sanctions Threat

Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi met in Beijing on July 13 (Reuters)
Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi met in Beijing on July 13 (Reuters)

Iran is turning to Russia and China in a bid to head off the potential reimposition of international sanctions, amid escalating tensions over its nuclear program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has held talks with his Chinese and Russian counterparts to discuss the future of the nuclear accord and the possibility that the European troika could trigger the “snapback” mechanism.

Iranian state media reported on Monday that Araghchi arrived in Beijing at the head of an official delegation to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s foreign ministers. The trip comes as debate intensifies within Iran over the stances of Moscow and Beijing, particularly in the aftermath of the recent conflict between Iran and Israel.

Speaking at a press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei stressed that Gulf security remains a priority for China.

“Araghchi’s visit follows an official invitation from the Chinese Foreign Minister,” he said, adding that the Iranian diplomat will hold bilateral meetings Tuesday on the sidelines of the gathering.

Baghaei emphasized Tehran’s ongoing coordination with both Russia and China, who are parties to the nuclear deal.

“Russia and China have consistently expressed their readiness to play a constructive role in the process related to Iran’s nuclear file, and this continues,” he noted. “We have longstanding, friendly relations with both countries and a strategic partnership.”

Addressing reports that Moscow has privately urged Tehran to halt uranium enrichment, Baghaei said: “We have not received any specific proposal from Russia on this matter.”

In Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed Iran’s nuclear issue with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, alongside other bilateral and international topics.

Meanwhile, Moscow on Sunday denounced a report claiming President Vladimir Putin had urged Iran to accept a deal with the United States that would bar it from enriching uranium. Russia’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the claim as “defamation” aimed at inflaming tensions over the Iranian nuclear program.

According to the American outlet Axios, sources familiar with the issue said Putin recently pressed Iran to agree to “zero enrichment.”

But Russia rebuffed the report as baseless, insisting its position is well known: "Invariably and repeatedly, we have emphasized the necessity of resolving the crisis concerning Iran's nuclear program exclusively through political and diplomatic means, and expressed our willingness to help find mutually acceptable solutions," the ministry statement read.

It added that Moscow stands ready to help broker mutually acceptable solutions.

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has strengthened its ties with Tehran. While publicly backing Iran’s right to enrich uranium, Putin has reportedly adopted a tougher line behind closed doors following the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran.

According to European and Israeli officials, Moscow has encouraged Tehran to accept a “zero enrichment” compromise and shared this position with Israeli authorities. “We know this is what Putin told the Iranians,” a senior Israeli official confirmed.

Last week, Putin is said to have relayed his stance in calls with US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.