US Sanctions Russia, Iran Entities Claiming Attempted Election Interference (X image @VoteGov)
Washington DC, US: United States imposed sanctions on entities in Iran and Russia, accusing them of attempting to interfere in the 2024 US election. In a statement, the US Treasury Department said the entities – a subsidiary of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and an organization affiliated with Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU) – aimed to “stoke socio-political tensions and influence the U.S. electorate during the 2024 U.S. election”.
“The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns,” Treasury’s Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley Smith, said in the statement.
“The United States will remain vigilant against adversaries who would undermine our democracy”.
Speaking to Reuters, Russian embassy in Washington said: “Russia has not and does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, including the United States”.
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“As President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed, we respect the will of the American people. All insinuations about ‘Russian machinations’ are malicious slander, invented for use in the internal political struggles in the United States,” the spokesperson added in a statement to the news agency.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Donald Trump won the US-Presidential election in November, beating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. Trump marked a remarkable comeback to the White House after four years of leaving the chair.
According to the Treasury, the Cognitive Design Production Center planned influence operations since at least 2023 designed to incite tensions among the electorate on behalf of the IRGC. It also accused the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE) of circulating disinformation about candidates in the election as well as directing and subsidizing the creation of deepfakes.
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It further added that the CGE also manipulated a video to produce “baseless accusations concerning a 2024 vice presidential candidate.” It did not specify which candidate was targeted. The Russia-based center, at the direction of the GRU, used generative AI tools to create disinformation distributed across a network of websites that were designed to look like legitimate news outlets, the Treasury said, as reported by media.
In an annual U.S. threat assessment released in October, it was reported that Washington sees a growing threat of Russia, Iran and China attempting to influence the elections, including by using artificial intelligence to disseminate fake or divisive information.
(With inputs from agencies)
