Russia, Iran tried to interfere in 2020 presidential election, reports US intelligence agencies

According to the report, the actions were intended to harm Biden and to support Trump in the elections. However, Russia’s goal was to reduce public confidence in the electoral process. The actions sought to deepen U.S political and social divide.

Further the report stated that Iran also tried to interfere in the 2020 presidential election with the same objectives. Unlike Russia, Iran's goal was to prevent Trump from being re-elected.

External forces influenced public opinion but did not try to change the vote, reads report.

Intelligence experts also found that China, which was previously thought to be expanding its U.S. influence efforts, ultimately did not deploy operations to affect the outcome of the Trump-Biden election.

In a statement, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., stressed that the report shows Russia remains the biggest threat to U.S. elections.

While China and Iran also “took specific steps related to U.S. elections,” they were at “a far less significant or systematic level than those undertaken by Russia.”

However, Tehran and Moscow have previously denied any involvement in attempting to influence U.S. elections.

Earlier, Joe Biden was elected the 46th president of the United States, narrowly emerged victorious from a contentious White House campaign that stretched days past election night, as vote tallies in several swing states were slowed by an unprecedented surge in mail-in ballots.