According to the FBI and US intelligence agencies, Iranian hackers have distributed hacked information about Donald Trump’s election campaign to people with ties to Biden’s campaign.

U.S. officials now believe that Trump campaign information was sent in unsolicited emails to people associated with the campaign in late June and early July, before Biden withdrew from the presidential race.

There is currently no evidence that the hackers received a response from any recipient.

In August, officials warned that Iran hopes to “sow discord” and undermine trust in US institutions ahead of the November election.

U.S. officials said Iran had used “social engineering and other efforts” to gain direct access to both the Democratic and Republican campaigns — a tactic they said had been used by both Iran and Russia in other countries around the world.

In a statement released Wednesday, the FBI said that “since June, Iranian malicious actors have continued their efforts to send stolen, non-public materials related to former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations.”

When contacted by the BBC, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the hack showed Iran “meddled in the election to help Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, knowing that President Trump will reinstate tough sanctions and stand up to their reign of terror.”

She said Biden and Harris should outline what happened to the material sent to Biden’s aides. “What did they know and when did they know it?” Ms. Leavitt asked.

Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign, said the campaign has been cooperating with authorities since learning of the hacks.

“We are not aware of any material being sent directly to the campaign,” Ms. Finkelstein added. “A few individuals were targeted on their personal emails with what appeared to be a spam or phishing attempt.”

Ms Finkelstein added that it condemns “in the strongest terms” any attempt at foreign interference in the election.

The BBC has also contacted the White House for comment.

The FBI statement said officials have been in contact with victims of the hack and will continue the investigation in hopes of stopping and disrupting the “threat actors responsible.”

The announcement comes as Trump’s security is under renewed scrutiny, just days after a second assassination attempt was made on his Florida golf course.

Trump spoke to reporters earlier about the attempt, saying, “I just have to live my own life.”

“You don’t ever want to be limited by all that craziness,” he added.

After Trump was wounded by a gunman at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, U.S. officials said an Iranian threat on Trump’s life prompted additional security measures.

At a packed rally on New York’s Long Island, just a few miles from where he grew up in Queens, Trump said “God spared my life.”

“Not once, but twice,” he said to loud applause from the audience. “There are people who say he (God) did it because Trump is going to turn this state around. He’s going to turn this country around.”

Supporters at the rally told the BBC they were angry to hear of the second possible attempt. Authorities said a gunman was found with a rifle at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida while the former president was playing golf.

Dina Glazer, one of the supporters at the rally, said she blamed Democrats and their rhetoric about Trump for the incidents.

The former president “needs more security, but that hasn’t happened,” she said.

Another supporter, Michelle Christ, said she feared Trump was “in constant danger.”

“Some people think their opinion is the most important,” she said. “But you don’t act on those thoughts” violently, she said.