Trump blames governor, not Iran, for Minnesota cyberattack
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he does not believe Iran is responsible for a recent cyberattack on water systems in Minnesota, putting him at odds with U.S. officials who reportedly suspect Iranian hackers probably orchestrated the attack.
“They blame it on Iran. I don’t think so. I think I blame it on Minnesota because they’re grossly incompetent,” Trump said at a July 31 Cabinet meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. “I would blame it on Minnesota and the governor, the corrupt governor of Minnesota.”
Trump has long criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, accusing him of enabling Somalia immigrants to carry out fraud against welfare programs in the state.
“They like to say, ‘Oh, it’s Iran.’ Iran should be so lucky. Iran’s got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota,” Trump said.
The U.S. is five months into the war in Iran after Trump first launched airstrikes on the country in late February.
Trump’s remarks undercut a New York Times report that said investigators believe the coordinated cyberattack on more than 30 municipal water systems in Minnesota was probably conducted by Iranian hackers. The report attributed the preliminary finding to unnamed U.S. and Minnesota officials, though officials cautioned investigators had not definitively determined who was responsible.
U.S. cybersecurity agencies are investigating the origins of the attack.
The cyberattacks occurred on July 26 and 27 and affected operational technology used by community water utilities, according to Minnesota IT Services, the state’s technology agency. Multiple Minnesota cities reported cybersecurity incidents that impacted their water utility control systems.
Trump did not explain why he doesn’t believe Iran was behind the attack, other than repeating his criticism of Walz.
“I think the governor is behind it. I don’t think there was an Iranian cyberattack. I think that Minnesota ought to get its act together. It’s one of the worst-run states,” Trump said.
Walz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency previously said federal agencies have issued numerous advisories warning of cyber threats to water and wastewater systems from foreign groups, including Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and state-sponsored groups linked to Russia and China.
Iranian-linked hackers have for years targeted U.S. water systems to varying levels of success. An April 7 CISA advisory warned that Iranian-affiliated hackers were attacking internet-facing programmable logic controllers, computer devices used to interact with machinery and other critical infrastructure networks, manufactured by Rockwell Automation.
A July 22 update to the advisory expanded the scope of the targeting to include devices manufactured by Schneider Electric, Siemens and potentially other manufacturers.
Contributing: Reuters
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
