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WASHINGTON (CN) — The Justice Department charged three members of the Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard with carrying out a hack and leak attack against Donald Trump’s presidential campaign last month, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday.
Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi face charges of conspiracy to obtain information from a protected computer; conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization; wire fraud; and aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the trio “prepared for and engaged in a wide-ranging hacking campaign” targeting current and former U.S. officials, members of the media, nongovernmental organizations and people tied to political campaigns.
“Such activity is part of Iran’s continuing efforts to stoke discord, erode confidence in the U.S. electoral process and unlawful acquire information relating to current and former U.S. officials that could be used to advance the malign activities of the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps],” prosecutors wrote in the indictment.
Those activities could include “ongoing efforts” to avenge the 2020 assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the Guard Corps’ Quds Force, the prosecutors said.
FBI Director Chris Wray said the trio impersonated U.S. officials to engage in spearphishing attacks and trick people into handing over confidential information.
“The conduct laid out in today’s indictment is just the latest example of Iran’s brazen behavior,” Wray said in a statement announcing the charges. “So today the FBI would like to send a message to the government of Iran: You and your hackers can’t hide behind your keyboards, if you try to meddle in our elections, we’re going to hold you accountable. And as long as you keep attempting to flout the rule of law, you’re going to keep running into the FBI.”
The hackers began targeting Trump’s campaign in May 2024 — after targeting other American official’s accounts since January 2020 — where they stole “non-public campaign documents and emails.” In June, they began leaking the documents to the media and people connected to then-candidate Joe Biden’s campaign in a “deliberate effort” to undermine Trump’s campaign.
News outlets like the Washington Post and Politico reported receiving emails from an anonymous account in July — who would only identify themselves as “Robert” — which included internal Trump campaign communications and a research dossier the campaign on Vice Presidential candidate and Ohio Senator JD Vance. The 271-page document sought to highlight Vance’s potential vulnerabilities based on his record and past statements.
Between June 27 and July 3, the hackers tried sending the stolen materials to two people tied to Biden’s campaign, but received no response. The prosecutors made no mention in the indictment of whether the hackers tried to send the materials to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
Friday’s charges come as Trump has repeatedly claimed that he is the target of Iranian assassination plots also in retaliation for his ordering the assassination of Soleimani.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the indictment, Jalili, Aghamiri and Balaghi were members of the Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary volunteer militia of the IRGC, where they specialized in cyberattacks.
Between July 2021 and May 2024, the hackers successfully compromised the accounts of at least nine prominent public figures, including a former senior government employee at the Department of State who was responsible for Middle East policy and involved in negotiating the Abraham Accords.
Other victims included a former Homeland Security Adviser to a former president, a former deputy director of the CIA and a former U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
After turning their attention to the Trump campaign, the hackers compromised the email accounts of five individuals: an unidentified attorney representing Trump, a former State Department official who advised another GOP campaign before Trump, two campaign officials and a former informal adviser.
According to the indictment, the hackers gained access to communications between the former State Department official and one of Trump’s campaign officials.
Based on their charges, the hackers could face up to 20 years in prison, although it is unlikely the three men would face their charged in the United States, as Iran and the United States do not have an extradition treaty.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the Justice Department is “working relentlessly” to uncover similar Iranian plots to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election.
“The American people — not Iran, or any other foreign power — will decide the outcome of our country’s elections,” Garland said.
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