The US Director of National Intelligence reported on Iran’s cyber activities and the misuse of protests against Israel in the Gaza war by Iranian agents.
Avril Haines, on Tuesday, July 9, said in a statement: ” We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters [against the Gaza war].”
The US director of national intelligence further referred to her testimony in the US Congress in May 2024, stating that Iran is increasingly attempting aggressive infiltration and creating divisions and undermining trust in our democratic institutions.
In this statement, she emphasized Tehran’s actions in previous US elections, specifying that Iranian cyber forces continue their cyber activities and infiltration using social media platforms and threats, and it is likely that they continue promoting their influence through their intelligence services and online influencers based in Iran.
The US director of national intelligence highlighted Tehran’s efforts in recent weeks, stressing that the country is seeking to “exploit” the ongoing protests over the Gaza war using a “playbook” that others have used for years.
“I want to be clear that I know Americans who participate in protests are, in good faith, expressing their views on the conflict in Gaza — this intelligence does not indicate otherwise. Moreover, the freedom to express diverse views, when done peacefully, is essential to our democracy, but it is also important to warn of foreign actors who seek to exploit our debate for their own purposes.” Haines said.
Student protests in the US, which began after Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip and the worsening conditions of civilians in the area, have been intense for weeks.
On Thursday, May 30, Iranian regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei, in a letter to American students opposing the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip, described them as part of the “Resistance Front.”
The Iranian regime refers to its affiliated militia groups in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen as the “Axis of Resistance,” which attacks US and Israeli targets and positions in the region.
The US director of national intelligence stated that Americans targeted by Iranian regime campaigns might not be aware that they are interacting with or supporting a foreign government.
Previously, the US director of national intelligence warned the Senate that innovations in artificial intelligence allow foreign actors to produce seemingly more credible political messages more efficiently, on a larger scale, and with content tailored to different languages and cultures.
On Thursday, May 30, the artificial intelligence company OpenAI also announced in a report that it had removed five online influence campaigns that were using artificial intelligence to “deceive” public opinion.
According to the company’s new report, bad actors based in Russia, China, Iran, and Israel were attempting to use artificial intelligence to deceive the public.
According to this report, these actors used OpenAI’s tools, including ChatGPT, to create social media comments in various languages, generate names and IDs for fake accounts, create cartoons and other images, and debug code.
