U.S. intelligence officials believe that Iran is trying to sabotage former President Trump’s presidential campaign through online influence operations, according to a press briefing on Monday.

Speaking to reporters, an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said U.S. spy agencies ‘observed Tehran working to influence the presidential election,’ likely because Iranian leaders want to avoid increased tensions with the U.S.

The official didn’t directly say that Iran was trying to undermine Trump, but that American spies ‘haven’t observed a shift in Iran’s preferences’ since 2020, meaning that Iran was still targeting Trump.

During the briefing, an intelligence official also said Iran is utilizing ‘vast webs of online personas and propaganda mills to spread disinformation,’ in addition to different online campaigns.

The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations denied allegations of election interference to Fox News Digital.

‘Iran does not engage in any objectives or activities intended to influence the U.S. election,’ a spokesperson said. ‘A significant portion of such accusations are characterized by psychological operations designed to artificially pep up election campaigns.’

Earlier in July, Tehran was accused of a separate plot to kill Trump after a gunman shot the former president at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Shortly after the allegations were made, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran said that the claims were ‘unsubstantiated and malicious.’

‘From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Trump is a criminal who must be prosecuted and punished in a court of law for ordering the assassination of General Soleimani,’ the permanent mission said to Fox News Digital at the time. ‘Iran has chosen the legal path to bring him to justice.’

Iran is not the only foreign adversary accused of meddling with the 2024 presidential election. On July 10, ODNI officials called Russia the ‘preeminent threat’ to the election.

Russia is ‘undertaking a whole-of-government approach to influence the election, including the presidential race, Congress and public opinion,’ an intelligence official said during the July 10 briefing, adding that Russia has grown ‘more sophisticated’ in election interference. The country generally targets the Democratic Party in U.S. elections.

According to the Director of National Intelligence’s latest report on Russia, the Kremlin targets the Democratic Party to diminish U.S. support for Ukraine, among other reasons.

‘We assess that the Russian government and its proxies sought to denigrate the Democratic Party before the midterms and undermine confidence in the election, most likely to weaken U.S. support for Ukraine, and to erode trust in U.S. democratic institutions,’ the report reads.

Per the July 10 ODNI briefing, Russia is reportedly also using artificial intelligence to mimic American Southern and Midwestern accents on social media.

‘Foreign adversaries continue to experiment with and have adopted at least some generative AI tools to more quickly and cheaply generate authentic looking content tailored primarily for social media platforms that can target specific audiences including in the U.S.,’ an ODNI official said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan, Louis Casiano and David Spunt contributed to this report.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ momentum could be the result of Democrats feeling relieved they are running a candidate other than President Biden rather than her strength as a candidate, a GOP strategist says.

The Democratic ticket has seen a boost in several polls conducted since Biden withdrew his re-election bid, with surveys showing Harris performing better than the president against former President Trump.

A GOP strategist tells Fox News that the momentum might not be the result of Harris herself, but rather the Democratic Party feeling hopeful about a replacement for Biden.

‘It’s mostly a reflection of the relief Democrats feel moving past the Biden campaign, which appeared doomed,’ GOP strategist David Kochel told Fox News Digital. 

Fox News polling found that since Biden dropped out of the race, Harris has gained a slight lead over Trump in almost every swing state.

Harris tied with Trump in Michigan, a state the former president was leading Biden by 8 points in January, according to a recent Detroit News WDIV-TV survey.

Additionally, Harris received a favorability boost of nearly 10 points over the course of one week after Biden withdrew from the race, according to an ABC News/Ipsos survey. 

Democrats have touted Harris’ success rate and say that she is uniting the party.

‘It is so remarkable how in a matter of days Harris has consolidated our big tent party, and this is something that is coming from the ground up,’ Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Fox News, describing a ‘level of energy that I haven’t seen on the campaign trail in a long time.’

However, Kochel told Fox that Harris’ momentum will be tested after the Democratic National Convention in August, when she will likely be named the party’s official 2024 nominee.

‘If she sustains it through the convention, it will be more a reflection of her performance,’ Kochel said. ‘We’ll know in a month what to call it.’

Turkey’s leader on Sunday threatened military intervention in Israel to stop Jerusalem’s war in Gaza in a significant escalation of rhetoric from NATO’s second-largest military.

In a meeting with his Justice and Development Party (AKP), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey ‘must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine.’

‘Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,’ he said, according to a Reuters report. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz came back swinging and suggested Erdoğan would meet a similarly deadly fate as Iraq’s former president, Saddam Hussein, who was executed by hanging in 2006.

‘Erdoğan follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel. Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended,’ Katz said in a message posted to X that included a picture of Erdoğan and the former Iraqi leader. 

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the U.S. State Department, the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., or NATO for comment on how they are working to cool tensions between the NATO nation and the West’s top ally in the Middle East. 

Threats levied by the Turkish president come as Israel faces increasing aggression from Iran-backed Islamic militants, including Hamas, Houthi and Hezbollah terrorist groups. 

Erdoğan did not detail what Turkish military intervention would entail, though he has repeatedly been a harsh critic of the war in Gaza.

‘There is no reason why we cannot do this…We must be strong so that we can take these steps,’ Erdogan told AKP party officials.

The Turkish leader appeared to be referring to military action Ankara, capital of Turkey, took in 2020 when it sent troops to defend the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord of Libya amid its civil war, which first broke out in 2014. 

Turkey has denied direct involvement in Azerbaijan’s military action in its Nagorno-Karabakh region, where it claims to be carrying out ‘anti-terror’ operations against Armenian rebels. Though in 2023, Ankara reportedly said it was using ‘all means’ to support its ally, including through military training.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly responded to Erdoğan’s comments, though he and the Turkish leader have routinely exchanged harsh barbs over the years. 

Both Netanyahu and Erdoğan have compared each other to Adolf Hitler over Turkey’s long-running war against Kurdish militants and for Israel’s hostile action against Palestinians. 

Former President Trump has had a number of legal victories in recent weeks, putting a pause on a majority of cases that could have complicated his campaigning during the general election season. 

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. United States that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office but not for unofficial acts. The high court said Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for ‘official acts’ but left it to the lower court to determine exactly where the line between official and unofficial is.

‘The President therefore may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts,’ the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts states. ‘That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office, regardless of politics, policy, or party.’

The question of presidential immunity stemmed from special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 case against Trump. Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges. That trial was put on hold in a lower court pending the Supreme Court’s ruling, which wiped out any charges related to official presidential acts.

The Supreme Court’s ruling then prompted Trump’s lawyers to request that the former president’s sentencing be delayed in New York v. Trump. He was found guilty on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree after an unprecedented criminal trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. 

The sentencing was originally scheduled for July 11, before the Republican National Convention, where Trump would eventually be formally nominated as the GOP presidential nominee. Judge Juan Merchan agreed to delay and said a hearing on the matter would take place Sept. 18. 

But days later, Trump’s lawyers asked Merchan to overturn the former president’s guilty verdict in New York v. Trump.

Trump attorneys cited the Supreme Court ruling, saying the court should ‘dismiss the indictment and vacate the jury’s verdict based on violations of the Presidential immunity doctrine and the Supremacy Clause.’ In the formal motion, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche pointed to the Supreme Court’s immunity decision and argued certain evidence of ‘official acts’ should not have been admitted during the trial.

Specifically, Blanche argued that testimony from former White House officials and employees was inappropriately admitted during trial. 

Blanche argued Bragg ‘violated the Presidential immunity doctrine by using similar official-acts evidence in the grand jury proceedings that gave rise to the politically motivated charges in this case.’ 

A ruling on the motion is pending. 

Days later, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed special counsel Jack Smith’s classified records case against Trump. 

Trump had faced charges related to alleged improper retention of classified records at Mar-a-Lago. He pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony counts from Smith’s probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. 

But Cannon dismissed the case altogether, ruling Smith was unlawfully appointed and funded, citing the Appointments Clause in the Constitution. 

The Appointments Clause states, ‘Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States be appointed by the President subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, although Congress may vest the appointment of inferior officers in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.’ Smith, however, was never confirmed by the Senate.

Smith is appealing the ruling. 

Meanwhile, in Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis had charged Trump related to alleged 2020 election interference. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

The judge in that case dismissed six of the charges against Trump, saying Willis failed to allege sufficient detail. 

The case also was thrown into limbo when it was revealed Willis reportedly had an ‘improper affair’ with Nathan Wade, a prosecutor she hired to help bring the case against Trump. Wade was later removed. 

Last month, the Georgia Court of Appeals paused the proceedings until it hears the case to disqualify Willis in October, yet another major setback for Willis. 

Last week, the Georgia Court of Appeals said it would hear Trump’s argument to have Willis disqualified on Dec. 5, a month after the 2024 presidential election. 

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ruling could be applied by Trump attorneys in several civil cases he has been fighting. 

In the civil defamation case brought against him by columnist E. Jean Carroll, Trump was ordered to pay more than $83 million in damages after he denied allegations he raped her in the 1990s. 

Carroll alleged Trump raped her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store across from Trump Tower in Manhattan in 1996. 

The jury found Carroll was injured as a result of statements Trump made while in the White House in June 2019. 

Trump’s denial came while he was president during a press gaggle at the White House. Trump attorneys could say the denial came as part of an official presidential act. 

His denial resulted in Carroll slapping Trump with a defamation suit, claiming his response caused harm to her reputation. 

Trump is also appealing the civil fraud ruling that demanded he pay more than $450 million after a lawsuit brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump’s legal team this week filed paperwork with a mid-level appeals court, calling the ruling ‘unconstitutional.’