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The United States announced new sanctions on Tuesday targeting Iranian and Russian organizations accused of attempting to interfere in US elections. The sanctioned groups include the Cognitive Design Production Center, a subsidiary of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise.
Bradley Smith, Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, stated: “The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions, seeking to divide the American people through disinformation campaigns.”
According to the US Treasury Department, both groups are linked to the IRGC and the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). The Treasury claimed these organizations sought to inflame socio-political tensions in the US and sway the 2024 elections.
The Cognitive Design Production Center, the Treasury reported, had been planning influence operations designed to “incite socio-political tensions among the US electorate in the lead-up to the 2024 elections.” Meanwhile, the Center for Geopolitical Expertise was accused of creating and spreading deepfake videos and misinformation targeting US election candidates.
In addition to the center, its director, Valery Mikhaylovich Korovin, was also sanctioned. These new measures add to previous sanctions against the IRGC, GRU, and other associated groups.
Earlier this year, the US government charged that Iranian officials had tried to undermine confidence in US democratic processes, using tactics such as “social engineering” to gain access to individuals connected to the presidential campaigns of both major parties.
In a separate action, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Russian judge Olesya Mendeleeva for her role in the detention of former Moscow city councillor Alexei Gorinov, who was convicted for speaking out against Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Smith commented: “Russia’s manipulation of its legal system silences dissent and stifles the truth about Russia’s unjust war against Ukraine.”
On Monday, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Russia called for Gorinov’s immediate and unconditional release.
