Iran accused of bid to sway US election

Iran has been accused by US officials of being behind a flurr y of threatening fake emails sent to Democratic voters in multiple battleground states in a late push to sway public opinion and interfere in the presidential election.

Purportedly from farright, pro-Trump groups like the Proud Boys, the fake emails were apparently aimed at intimidating voters.

Jo h n Ratcliffe, the g o v e r n m e n t ’s national intelligence director, said the aim was to hurt President Donald Trump in the contest against Democrat Joe Biden but did not elaborate on how.

One possibility is the messages may have been intended to align Mr Trump in the minds of voters with the Proud Boys after he was criticised for failing to unequivocally denounce the group during the first presidential debate.

Officials did not lay out specific evidence for how they came to pinpoint Iran, but the activities attributed to Tehran would mark a significant escalation in its online espionage.

Mr Ratcliffe and FBI director Chris Wray called out Russia and Iran for having obtained voter registration information, though such data is sometimes easily accessible and there was no allegation either country had hacked a database for it.

Iran used the information to push out spoofed emails, officials said, and created a video that Mr Ratcliffe said falsely suggested voters could cast fraudulent ballots from overseas.

The pair did not describe the emails linked to Iran but officials familiar with the matter said the US has linked Tehran to messages sent to Democratic voters in at least four states, including battleground locations such as Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona.

The emails falsely purported to be from the Proud Boys and warned “we will come after you” if the recipients do not vote for Donald Trump.

A spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations, Alireza Miryousefi, denied Te h r a n had anything to do with the alleged voter intimidation.

“Unlike the US, Iran does not inter fere in other country’s elections,” he tweeted.

Mr Trump, speaking at a rally in North Carolina, made no reference to the announcement but he repeated a familiar campaign assertion that Iran is opposed to his re-election.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, said the “disturbing” threats cut to the heart of the right to vote.

RALLYING TO CAUSE: Political passions have been further inflamed by claims of Iranian interference in the election.