The suspects, who were identified as members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), allegedly hired "malicious cyber actors" to hack into the campaign of an unidentified presidential candidate in May and stole documents from it. U.S. officials have later privately said that Trump's campaign was the victim of the attack. (Related: FBI says Iran hacked Trump campaign materials, gave them to Biden and Kamala… why does Trump suddenly believe the FBI?)
The three IRGC members who oversaw the operation were identified as Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi. They were charged with material support for terrorism, computer fraud, wire fraud and identity theft.
The indictment said the personal email accounts of a former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a former Department of Defense (DOD) official and an individual who appears to be longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone were also hacked.
"The American people, not a foreign power, decide the outcome of our country's elections," said Attorney General Merrick Garland. "Not Iran and its malicious cyber activities, as laid bare in today's indictment."
It was reported that in June, the perpetrators emailed the stolen materials from the Trump campaign to people identified with President Joe Biden. But the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other U.S. officials said there is "currently no information" indicating that the recipients got or responded to the email.
The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations called the allegations "entirely baseless, lacking any credibility and legitimacy" and "in no way acceptable."
Iran trying to disrupt U.S. presidential election
Analysts say the hacking of the Trump campaign is the latest by Iran in a calculated attempt to disrupt the U.S. presidential election, which includes an assassination attempt on the former president.
The indictment follows a Microsoft report from August that identified a spear-phishing attempt originating from Iran. This attack targeted a senior official within a U.S. presidential campaign, believed to be associated with Trump's 2024 run. The breach reportedly led to the exposure of sensitive internal communications.
In mid-August, U.S. intelligence agencies and the FBI concluded that Iranian operatives were responsible for the cyberattack. According to their findings, Iranian hackers orchestrated the breach, though the specific nature of the leaked data remains undisclosed.
The Trump campaign confirmed the breach shortly after a series of internal documents, including research on Ohio Senator JD Vance, Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, surfaced online. The documents were distributed via anonymous emails, heightening concerns about foreign interference in the 2024 election.
Government agencies, including the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), also released evidence linking Iran to further attempts to disrupt the presidential election.
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Watch as Trump campaign rips Iranian hacking report: "It's election interference, plain and simple."
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