The US Justice Department unsealed criminal charges on Friday against three alleged Iranian operatives accused of involvement in the hack of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the release of stolen information to media outlets.
Masoud Jalili, Sayyed Ali Alghamiri and Yasar Balaghi were accused of committing conspiracy to obtain protected information from a computer, commit aggravated identity theft and commit access device fraud, among other charges, court documents showed.
“The defendants' own words make clear that they were attempting to undermine former president Trump's campaign in advance of the 2024 US presidential election,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters.
“We know that Iran is continuing its brazen efforts to stoke discord, erode confidence in the US electoral process … The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by Iran or by any foreign power to interfere in our elections and undermine our democracy.”
The Trump campaign announced last month that it had been the target of a hack – which it blamed on Iran – after several media organisations said they had received anonymous emails containing documents that appeared to have been stolen from the former president's campaign team.
Mr Trump has played down the hack, saying operatives had stolen information that was “publicly available”.
The three men were employed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and their activities included a range of targets, including government officials, members of the media and NGOs, according to Justice Department.
The goal was to obtain information that could “be used to advance the malign activities of the IRGC including ongoing efforts to avenge the death of Qassem Suleimani”, the court documents claimed.
In 2020, during Mr Trump's term in office, the US carried out a strike in Baghdad that killed Mr Suleimani, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, who supervised Iran-allied militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
Iran has denied involvement in the hack of the Trump campaign.
Separately, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on seven people over their alleged involvement in attempting to influence the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections.
“Iranian state-sponsored actors undertook a variety of malicious cyber activities, such as hack-and-leak operations and spear-phishing, in an attempt to undermine confidence in the United States’ election processes and institutions and to interfere with political campaigns,” the department said.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20Profile
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The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Company%20profile
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The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
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Naga
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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