US charges 3 Iranian hackers and imposes sanctions for allegedly targeting Trump campaign

US federal prosecutors on Friday unsealed criminal charges against three Iranian government-linked hackers in connection with a hacking operation aimed at Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

The three are accused of a multi-year hacking effort aimed at current and former US officials and journalists, including the breach of the Trump campaign this summer, according to an indictment unsealed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar (Yaser) Balaghi are accused of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud for their hacking efforts on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Separately, the US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on seven people as part of a sweeping response to Iranian efforts “to influence or interfere” in the 2020 and 2024 US presidential elections.

The alleged Iranian hack threw a twist in the presidential campaign in August when multiple news outlets reported receiving emails from a pseudonymous email account peddling documents stolen from the Trump campaign.

The aggressive soliciting of the stolen information — which included a vetting file on Trump running mate JD Vance — to media outlets immediately drew comparisons to 2016, when Russian intelligence officers used WikiLeaks to launder emails stolen from the Hillary Clinton campaign.

None of the alleged hackers have been arrested. The indictment is one of several US government efforts to blunt the impact of Iranian and Russian influence operations on the November presidential election by publicly exposing the activity.

Iranian operatives are working to undermine Trump’s presidential bid through covert social media operations, while Russia is trying to undermine Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign through similar means, according to US intelligence assessments. China has largely been focused on influencing down-ballot races rather than the presidential contest, according to US intelligence.

US officials quickly concluded that individuals with the IRGC were behind the hack, stealing the internal campaign documents to try to sow discord about the presidential election. That particular IRGC hacking group has a long history of targeting the email accounts of senior officials from the Trump and Biden administrations for espionage and surveillance purposes.

The hacking operation began in June, when the alleged IRGC-linked hackers targeted longtime Trump ally Roger Stone and used access to his email account to target campaign staff.

The hackers also attempted to target the Biden-Harris campaign, the FBI has said.

Iran has denied US allegations that it is trying to meddle in the US election.

US intelligence officials have warned the public that foreign operatives will likely ramp up their efforts to undermine confidence in the voting process in the final weeks before the presidential election. US officials have in turn tried to burn some of their operations through indictments, sanctions and press conferences.

The Justice Department this month announced criminal charges against two employees of Russian state-run media outlet RT for covertly funneling nearly $10 million into a US company to create and amplify content that aligned with Russian interests. The department also seized 34 internet domains that Russian front companies were allegedly using to disseminate anti-Ukraine propaganda by impersonating prominent US news outlet like The Washington Post and Fox News.

This story has been updated with additional details.