Politico reported that a U.S. grand jury has indicted several Iranian nationals in connection with the hacking of the 2016 presidential campaign of Republican candidate Donald Trump.
According to ABC News, federal law enforcement officials are expected to announce criminal charges on Friday related to the suspected Iranian hacking of emails belonging to members of Trump’s campaign.
Former President Donald Trump called for the U.S. to “threaten destruction” against Iran if it harms any American presidential candidate. He made these remarks after intelligence briefed him on threats from Tehran.
During a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, Trump stated, “If I were president, I would inform the threatening nation, in this case, Iran, that if they do anything to harm this person, we will destroy their largest cities and the country itself.”
Trump, who has reportedly faced two assassination attempts recently, claimed on Tuesday that his life is directly threatened by Iran.
His campaign team revealed that they had received information from U.S. intelligence about “concrete” assassination threats against the Republican candidate, originating from Iran. U.S. intelligence confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that a meeting was held with Trump’s campaign regarding this issue, without providing further details.
Last month, the U.S. accused Iran of multiple hacking attempts targeting the presidential campaigns of Trump and Kamala Harris. The Trump campaign disclosed one such incident on August 10.
According to U.S. authorities, Iranian hackers sent “stolen” documents from Trump’s campaign to Joe Biden’s campaign team, who has since withdrawn from the presidential race.
A spokesperson for Trump stated that these “threats” highlight the fact that “the terrorist regime in Iran loves Kamala Harris’s weakness and fears President Trump’s strength and determination.”
Trump has been the target of two assassination attempts in recent months. In mid-July, he was shot in the right ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
On September 15, a man was arrested after being spotted by Secret Service agents with a weapon near a golf course in Florida where Trump was present. He was charged with attempted murder on Tuesday.
