Reuters, July 9, WASHINGTON – The White House told on Tuesday that Tehran wanted to capitalize on recent Gaza-related protests in the United States, referring to any such action as inadmissible. This accusation comes after the head of the U. S intelligence threatened that Iran is working hard to fan divisions in American society. 

Intelligence Warning on Iranian Activities 

The Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, made the threat early Tuesday and said that Iran-linked actors had impersonated activists. They wanted to provoke the demonstrations regarding Gaza and even fund them. The above actions were intended to heighten societal conflict and cause disunity in the United States. 

White House Response 

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said that free speech is one of the core principles of American democracy while stressing the role of the government in informing the public of possible foreign interference. 

People of all political persuasions, who are in good faith, have wished to share their personal opinions on Gaza; in America, there is the freedom to express diversity while exercising democracy, Jean-Pierre said. ‘At the same time, the U. S Government also has a responsibility to inform Americans of the foreign malign activities that seek to manipulate our country. We will keep on alerting the public efforts to subvert democracy in our society as is being done today .’ 

Tehran’s Silence 

However, The Tehran government has not made any statements about the White House’s recent claims. 

Context and Implications 

An official of the ODNI who preferred anonymity spoke and said that the warning on Iran shows how foreign actors leverage contentious issues, which are especially embraced before the elections, to make the U.S. embarrassed and exacerbate social rift. 

“Iran has a longstanding interest in exploiting U.S. political and social tensions, including through social media,” the official said. “In particular, we are monitoring Iranian actors who are seeking to exacerbate tensions on the Israel-Gaza conflict.”

The accusations made recently by the White House underlined that the problem of protecting American democracy from foreign interference is still urgent. According to Iran, it is trying to exploit contentious matters to cause splits in the U.S. Simultaneously, the latter’s authorities must protect the First Amendment and security. Essentially, it is a perfect illustration of the obsessive focus on democratic values but, at the same time, the need to guard against the enemies.