Washington CNN —The threat environment in the United States “remains high” ahead of the November presidential election and conflict in the Middle East, according to a new assessment by the Department of Homeland Security. The annual assessment released Wednesday warns of possible threats from violent extremists driven by the heated political environment in the US as well as foreign and domestic threats from terrorist groups and others inspired by conflicts abroad. Some of those intentions of Iran and other countries, according to officials and the report itself, are to sow confusion and chaos in the US 2024 presidential election. “We have seen threats against election workers, we’ve seen white powder letters sent to election workers to scare them,” the official said. “We have also recently observed a rise in disruptive tactics targeting election officials and offices—like those observed in past election cycles—including hoax bomb threats, swatting, doxxing, and mailing white powder letters, intended to instill fear and disrupt campaign and election operations,” the report says.

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Persons: Israel, Hassan Nasrallah, Christopher Wray, “, CNN’s Sean Lyngaas Organizations: Washington CNN, Department of Homeland Security, DHS Locations: United States, East, Lebanon, Iran, Israel, “ China, Russia, China