On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced new sanctions against Russia and Iran in response to their respective efforts to influence the 2024 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,” Bradley T. Smith, the acting undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement.
“The United States will remain vigilant against adversaries who would undermine our democracy.”
The sanctions target the Cognitive Design Production Center, a division of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as the Center for Geopolitical Expertise and its director, Valery Mikhailovich Korovin, both of which are affiliated with the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU.
“These actors sought to stoke sociopolitical tensions and undermine our election institutions during the 2024 U.S. general election,” the State Department said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
Both build on existing sanctions imposed on the two countries and come after US intelligence agencies identified campaigns in each country aimed at undermining the 2024 election by dividing Americans and spreading misinformation.
In a series of calls with reporters ahead of the election, intelligence officials said both countries were building on previous efforts, creating more sophisticated false content and relying on artificial intelligence to aid their efforts.
Russia was responsible for a number of false videos, including one accusing Vice President Harris of being involved in a hit-and-run.
Iran also devoted more resources to spreading disinformation in Spanish.
The intelligence community concluded that, while Russia aimed to help President-elect Trump win the election, Iran preferred Harris.
Tuesday’s sanctions were not the first reaction to Russian interference.
Prior to the election, the Justice Department seized 32 different web domains, many of which appeared to be legitimate news sites, such as The Washington Post, but were promoting content that supported Russian narratives.
This included numerous fake articles about the country’s war with Ukraine.
In a separate indictment, the Justice Department accused two RT employees of contracting with an American media company to covertly pay well-known conservative commentators such as Tim Pool and Benny Johnson to promote Russian narratives.
Both men have stated that they were unaware of the true backers of the effort after being presented with information on a false investor, and that they never changed their message.
Tuesday’s sanctions, however, did not target China, which U.S. intelligence identified as active in attempting to influence the election.
China increased its influence efforts by creating fake social media accounts to “push narratives and sow divisiveness,” similar to efforts used by Russia in previous elections. However, it was discovered that the country was not taking action to promote either candidate.
