Iran and Russia interfering in US election, says FBI

US intelligence officials have warned that Russia and Iran are trying to influence the coming presidential election.

FBI Director Christopher Wray. Picture: AFP

US intelligence officials have warned that Russia and Iran are trying to influence the coming presidential election, with ­Tehran-linked operatives connected to emails — purportedly from the far-right Proud Boys — warning Democrats to vote for Donald Trump “or we will come after you”.

The emails were sent to registered Democrats in key battleground states, including Florida and Pennsylvania, as part of efforts by Iran to terrorise voters and disrupt the electoral process in the final fortnight before the US poll, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

That came after Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said Iran and Russia had obtained voter registration data and were attempting to sway the election result.

He said Iran was behind “spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters, incite social unrest and damage President Don­ald Trump”, but did not mention the Proud Boys, a group that shot to fame after the US President told them to “stand back and stand by” in the first election debate.

Mr Ratcliffe said voter data, which is often public or commercially available, “can be used by foreign actors to attempt to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, sow chaos and undermine your confidence in American democracy”.

FBI director Christopher Wray, speaking at the same briefing, said officials were working to protect the integrity of the election. “We are not going to tolerate foreign interference in our elections, or any criminal activity that threatens the sanctity of your vote or undermines public confidence in the outcome of the election,” he said.

The Journal said it had confirmed the Iranian emails were those already identified by news organisations as being purportedly sent by the right-wing group.

The Proud Boys — ardent Trump supporters who have been linked to white supremacist groups and political violence — had earlier denied sending the emails, which declared in the subject line: “Vote for Trump or else!”

“We are in possession of all your information (email, address, telephone … everything),” the emails said. “You are currently registered as a Democrat and we know this because we have gained access into the entire voting infrastructure. You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you.

“Change your party affiliation to Republican to let us know you received our message and will comply. We will know which candidate you voted for. I would take this seriously if I were you.”

The hackers exploited vulnerabilities in a website affiliated with the Proud Boys, enabling them to send the emails from what appeared to be an official account.

Source code embedded in a number of the emails revealed the messages originated from IP addresses linked to servers in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Estonia.

A senior intelligence official told the Journal Iran’s acquisition of voter information was more widespread and aggressive than Russia’s, which was more narrowly targeted.

The Iranian mission to the UN denied the allegations, saying Iran did not interfere in the elections of other nations. “Iran has no interest in interfering in the US election and no preference for the outcome,” spokesman Alireza Miryousefi said.

The rapid disclosure of the electoral interference, which was identified on Tuesday, is in marked contrast to the delayed disclosure of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 poll.

The revelation has ramped up concerns about the integrity of the electoral process, amid efforts by Mr Trump to undermine con­fidence in mail-in ballots and voter records.

The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate intelligence committee, Marco Rubio and Mark Warner, urged Americans to “be cautious about believing or spreading unverified, sensational claims related to votes and voting”.

“Our adversaries abroad seek to sow chaos and undermine voters’ belief in our democratic institutions, including the election systems and infrastructure that we rely on to record and properly report expressions of the voters’ will,” they said in a joint statement. “They may seek to target those systems, or simply leave the impression that they have altered or manipulated those systems, in order to undermine their credibility and our confidence in them.”

US intelligence agencies have previously warned that Russia was seeking to undermine Democrat nominee Joe Biden; that China wanted Mr Trump to lose the election; and Iran was seeking to undermine US democratic institutions while harming the Trump administration.