WASHINGTON – Iranian government agents have sought to influence American protests against the Gaza war, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday, one of the sternest warnings yet against foreign interference in the demonstrations that have rocked the country this spring.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said people working for Iran were “facilitating” the protests through social media and other cyber activity, posing as activists online and promoting and funding the demonstrations.
“We want to be clear that we know American protesters are expressing their views on the Gaza conflict in good faith,” Haines said in a statement, “but it is also important to send a warning to foreign powers that seek to exploit our discourse for their own purposes.”
The statement, part of a series of updates on election security, did not identify specific groups or protests that federal officials believe are under pressure from Iran, but security and terrorism experts said it was consistent with previous reports about Iran’s role in the international intelligence picture and groups linked to the protests.
As USA Today reported in May, at least one group active at the student protest camp, American Muslims for Palestine, is led by a man who previously worked for an organization indicted and held accountable for directly funding Hamas. American Muslims for Palestine says it has no ties to Hamas and denies any close ties to the former organization.
Experts say any involvement of foreigners in the university protests could further deepen the rift.
“Most overseas campaigns actually have very little impact,” said Daniel Byman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonpartisan policy research center.
“But even if the impact is small, it could further divide the United States at a time when American public opinion is already highly polarized,” Byman said in an email.
Lorenzo Vidino, director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, said that while most of the protesters don’t have foreign backing, certain countries certainly have an interest in them. Some countries, such as Russia and China, are primarily interested in spreading dissent within the U.S., while others are interested in both disrupting the U.S. and supporting the Palestinian cause.
“Iran falls into the latter category,” Vidino said. “There is no denying that Tehran has long supported Hamas and that some of the organizations involved in the protests at U.S. universities have ties to Hamas.”
At a press conference later that day, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated Haines’ message, emphasizing the importance of Americans’ right to express their opinions, as well as the U.S. government’s responsibility to warn the public about foreign influence.
“This is important to protect Americans from attempts by foreign powers to exploit or hijack legitimate protests,” Jean-Pierre said.
more:During the Gaza war protests, the website profiled students and accused them of “hatred.”
Demonstrations both for and against the Gaza war escalated rapidly after Hamas fighters stormed Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 240 hostages. Israel invaded the Gaza Strip in response to the attack, but public outcry grew as the civilian death toll increased; currently reported at more than 30,000, although the data cannot be independently verified. Campus protests have surged this spring as demonstrators called for a ceasefire and an end to support for Israel.
The director of national intelligence oversees the U.S. government’s 18 different intelligence agencies and advises the president and other officials on national security. The position was born out of a push to reform the federal information system after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Biden nominated Haines, the first woman to hold the role, in 2020 and she was confirmed in 2021.
