The U.S. intelligence community has uncovered a covert Iranian operation to fund and direct American protests, raising alarms about foreign interference just as the 2024 campaign season heats up.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines announced on July 9, 2024, that the U.S. intelligence community has detected actors affiliated with Iran’s government posing as activists online. These actors have been encouraging protests and even providing financial support to protesters.
Haines stated the purpose of this disclosure is to inform the public about foreign attempts to influence U.S. democratic processes. "In recent weeks, Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza,” Haines said. "Americans who are being targeted by this Iranian campaign may not be aware that they are interacting with or receiving support from a foreign government."
Typically, the U.S. intelligence community operates separately from law enforcement, but federal prosecutors have previously brought cases against attempts by Iran to influence American public opinion. In 2023, President Biden pardoned one such individual as part of a deal to secure the release of American hostages held by Iran.
Haines, a Biden appointee and former deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration, emphasized that not all anti-Israel protesters are influenced by Iran. “I want to be clear that I know Americans who participate in protests are, in good faith, expressing their views on the conflict in Gaza – this intelligence does not indicate otherwise. Moreover, the freedom to express diverse views, when done peacefully, is essential to our democracy,” she wrote. “But it is also important to warn of foreign actors who seek to exploit our debate for their own purposes.”
Haines mentioned that she would provide further updates on foreign influence efforts as the 2024 campaign season progresses.
Notably absent from the statement was any detail about what actions the U.S. government is taking to counter the Iranian meddling. Questions remain about whether the government has tried to shut down bank accounts or social media accounts used by the Iranians or if diplomatic messages have been sent through channels like the Embassy of Switzerland.
Elliott Abrams, a foreign policy official who served under the Reagan, George W. Bush, and Trump administrations, criticized the Biden administration's Middle East diplomacy in a post on his Council on Foreign Relations blog. He wrote, “As I have watched U.S. diplomacy since October 7, the phrase that has kept on coming back to me is Casey Stengel’s after his 1962 Mets racked up a modern record of 120 losses: ‘Can’t anybody here play this game?’”
“Isn’t it obvious that as between Iran and the world’s greatest superpower, Iran and not the United States should be afraid of escalation?” Abrams continued. “The record is clear that the Iranian leadership shies away from confrontation with the United States, so why are our diplomats expressing the greater fear of escalation?”
Given the extensive investigations and media coverage following Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, it would be surprising if the revelation of Iranian activity during the 2024 campaign does not generate a similar level of concern.
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