Iran Denies Meddling in Mid-Term U.S. Elections

Date: 21 October 2018 - 21:56

News ID: ۵۸۷۸۳

TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Iran on Sunday denied interfering in the United States’ mid-term elections, saying that the Islamic Republic’s principled policy is avoid interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi dismissed recent "baseless claims” by the U.S. government’s intelligence, judicial and security authorities.
He said attempts by the U.S. officials to say Iran had been involved in the mid-term U.S. polls are an unfounded allegation, possibly caused by an unknown illusion.
The U.S. national security advisor John Bolton had earlier made a similar allegation without providing any evidence, the Iranian official added.
"The White House has for some time been trying to raise allegations against other countries for specific political reasons, and every day adds a country to its fictional list,” said the Iranian spokesperson.
"The president of the United States had earlier claimed that since he took office, Iran had been busy with its internal affairs and that Tehran was so weak it could not even think of regional issues and was just thinking about its survival,” Qasemi said.
"Then how can such a country preoccupied with internal issues be interfering in the United States’ parliamentary elections?” he added.
U.S. federal intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies issued a joint statement on Friday, alleging active foreign influence campaigns being waged by multiple nations against the U.S. with only a few weeks remaining until the midterm elections.
In the announcement, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence of the United States warned of "ongoing campaigns” by Russia, China and Iran to influence in the midterm elections and the 2020 race, largely through social media.