On December 31, 2024, the United States announced sanctions against entities in Iran and Russia, accusing them of attempting to interfere in the upcoming U.S. elections.
The U.S. Treasury Department identified a subsidiary of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps and an organization linked to Russia's military intelligence as responsible for efforts to influence the U.S. electorate. These efforts reportedly aimed to exacerbate socio-political tensions.
According to the Treasury, the Cognitive Design Production Center had been planning influence operations since at least 2023, while the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE) was involved in spreading disinformation about candidates and funding the creation of deepfake content.
The Treasury also noted that CGE manipulated a video to make unfounded allegations against a vice presidential candidate for 2024, although the specific candidate was not disclosed.
Bradley Smith, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, emphasized that both Iran and Russia have targeted U.S. election processes and sought to divide the American populace through disinformation campaigns. He reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to countering such threats to its democracy.