The United States says affiliates of the Iranian and Russian governments worked to sow division in the 2024 elections.
The United States announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia and Iran, citing alleged efforts to interfere during its 2024 elections.
In a statement On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department said that an affiliate of Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU) and an affiliate of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) worked to stir up inner tensions.
“The Iranian and Russian governments have targeted our electoral processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns,” said Bradley Smith, Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, in the press release.
“The United States will remain vigilant against adversaries who could undermine our democracy. »
President-elect Donald Trump ultimately emerged victorious in the November presidential election. His right-wing party, the Republicansalso took control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which together constitute the United States Congress.
The Treasury Department’s statement claims that the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE) subsidized the creation of misleading images and helped spread “baseless accusations about a 2024 vice presidential candidate,” without give more details.
Allegations of election interference by countries like Russia have been a political flashpoint for years, although critics argue their influence has been overstated.
Iranian and Russian officials have yet to respond to Tuesday’s allegations, but have previously denied similar claims.
“Today’s sanctions build on numerous prior actions by the U.S. government that have disrupted Iran’s attempts to undermine trust in our democratic institutions and Iran’s global malign influence campaigns and illicit cyber activities. Russia,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a press release on Tuesday.
The statement said the CGE and its director, Valery Mikhailovich Korovin, were singled out for sanctions, along with the Cognitive Design Production Center (CPDC), which it said is affiliated with the IRGC.
Such sanctions would freeze any U.S.-based assets that groups and individuals may hold, and prevent U.S.-based entities from doing business with them.
