US says bodies from Russia and Iran tried to interfere in elections

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on entities from Iran and Russia, accusing them of trying to interfere in this year’s US elections.

In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department said the entities — a subsidiary of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and an organization affiliated with Russia’s military intelligence agency — aimed to “stoke sociopolitical tensions and influence the U.S. electorate during the 2024 US election.”

The Cognitive Design Production Center has planned influence operations since at least 2023, the Treasury said, while the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE) circulated disinformation about candidates in the election and directed and subsidized the creation of deepfakes.