US accuses Iran of exploiting anti-war protests on university campuses

The Iranian government has tried to hijack ongoing Gaza war protests in US universities, and actors close to Tehran have provoked and financially supported the protesters, the Director of US National Intelligence said on Tuesday, as she warned against Iran's influence efforts.

"Iran is becoming increasingly aggressive in their foreign influence efforts, seeking to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions," Director of the US National Intelligence Avril Haines said in a statement.

She said that in recent weeks Iranian government actors have sought to "opportunistically" take advantage of ongoing protests against Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza.

"We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters," Haines said.

The pro-Palestine protests in the US and Europe, especially in university campuses, have been widely praised and politically leveraged by Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He has repeatedly lauded the protesting students for their alignment with Iran's stance against American and Israeli policies.

In a recent speech, Khamenei branded the campus protesters part of Iran's 'resistance front' against the US and Israel.

However, Haines said Americans who are being targeted by Iran may not be aware that they are interacting with or receiving support from a foreign government.

Haines also said in May that Iran will pose a significant threat to the upcoming US elections, warning that Tehran will intensify its cyber and influence activities.

In her Tuesday statement, she warned again about Iran's increased efforts to undermine confidence in US democratic institutions ahead of this year's Presidential and congressional elections, urging Americans to remain "vigilant".

White House Press Secretary also denounced the Islamic Republic's influence efforts in the US during a Tuesday press conference.

"I want to convey a firm message from here to Iran and any other foreign actor that seek to conduct these types of influence activities: Meddling in our politics and seeking to stroke division is unacceptable," she said.

"We will continue to expose attempts to undermine our democracy and our society just as we are today. That is something that we will continue to do," Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Influence by “foreign actors” has been a source of apprehension in recent US elections, especially since 2016, when ‘Russian meddling’ became a major theme, with people on both parties accusing the other of having benefited from it.

There seems to be a growing consensus in Washington that the ‘influence’ offensive from the Tehran has to be taken seriously, even though it’s not yet as serious as threats from Moscow and Beijing –and perhaps not on the same global scale.

Russia, China, and Iran deny all such accusations, punching back with allegations of American influence campaigns –and direct interventions– across the world.

Iran International revealed in an investigation with Semafor last year that an Iranian-backed influence network, called the Iran Experts Initiative, sought to build relationships with overseas academics and researchers in the West to affect Washington's foreign policy on Tehran.