WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department announced charges against three people for allegedly carrying out an Iranian-backed operation to hack the campaign of former President Donald Trump.

The indictment unsealed on Friday claims the individuals gained access to emails, debate preparation material and documents regarding potential vice presidential candidates from people working on Trump’s 2024 campaign for president. The indictment didn’t mention the former president by name, but a person familiar with the matter said it referred to Trump.

“We are working relentlessly to uncover and counter Iran’s efforts to stoke discord, to undermine confidence in our democratic institutions and to influence our elections,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a press conference Friday. “The US government is intensely tracking Iran’s lethal plotting against current and former US government officials, including former President Trump.”

Garland said the defendants are Iranian nationals living in Iran.

The U.S. Treasury Department also announced sanctions Friday against seven Iranians for attempts to influence or interfere in the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, according to a statement. Iranian state-sponsored actors used malicious cyber activities including hack-and-leak operations and spear-phishing, the department said.

The U.S. allegations follow an inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that became public after a report from Microsoft Corp. described efforts by the Iranian government to access email accounts of presidential campaign staff members.

U.S. authorities said last week the hackers emailed stolen information from Trump’s campaign to President Joe Biden’s campaign during the summer, as well as to journalists. Investigators said they didn’t have any evidence that anyone from Biden’s campaign replied to the emails.

Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations has previously called the allegations “fundamentally unsound” and that the U.S. hadn’t shared any evidence of the hack. The office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the charges on Friday.

US officials and cybersecurity experts believe Iran’s government is seeking to undermine Trump’s candidacy after he antagonized Tehran during his first term in office.

While president, Trump scrapped an international nuclear deal with Iran, imposed severe sanctions on the Islamic Republic and ordered the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran has tried to disrupt past US elections. In 2020, its operatives impersonated members of the right-wing Proud Boys group as part of a voter intimidation effort, according to the FBI, resulting in charges against two men.

That same year, Iranian hackers breached a website that a municipal government in the US used to publish election results, though the they were caught before carrying out any nefarious activity, US officials said.

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