Iran has condemned sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on six Iranians and one firm for alleged interference within the 2020 presidential marketing campaign.
On Thursday the Treasury Division introduced the designations of Iranian cybersecurity firm Emennet Pasargad and 6 Iranians it mentioned took half in a cyber marketing campaign “to intimidate and affect American voters, and in any other case undermine voter confidence and sow discord.”
The Justice Division additionally unveiled legal costs towards two of the sanctioned Iranians, Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi and Sajjad Kashian, who’re accused of hacking the pc system of an unidentified US state and downloading information on greater than 100,000 of that state’s voters. Prosecutors accused them of posing because the white nationalist Proud Boys group and sending hundreds of threatening emails to registered Democrats, in addition to illegally getting access to a US media firm’s laptop community.
In a press release posted to Twitter on Friday, Iranian International Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh described the administration’s sanctions towards the alleged Iranian cyber actors as “not authentic.”
“Iran considers the brand new US sanctions efforts as a continuation of the failed coverage of Trump’s most stress and as actions out of desperation,” Khatibzadeh mentioned.
The Trump administration pursued what it known as a “most stress” marketing campaign towards Iran after unilaterally withdrawing from the nuclear deal in 2018 and restored harsh financial sanctions meant to spur broader negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, ballistic missiles program and regional exercise.
President Joe Biden is in search of to rejoin the landmark accord and has pledged to raise the Trump-era sanctions in trade for Iran coming again into compliance with the deal. Talks geared toward salvaging the settlement are set to renew in Vienna on Nov. 29 after the six rounds of negotiations ended with out a breakthrough.
Iran additionally lashed out Friday at French International Ministry spokesperson Anne-Claire Legendre, who not too long ago known as on the United Nations’ atomic watchdog, the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company, to ship a “sturdy message” that Tehran ought to resume cooperation with the company and return to full implementation of the nuclear deal.
Iran “has at all times emphasised that the IAEA’s popularity as a technical and specialised physique of the United Nations needs to be free from any political conduct,” Khatibzadeh tweeted.
The nation’s consultant workplace in Vienna introduced that IAEA chief Rafael Grossi will go to Iran subsequent week to satisfy with Iran’s new international minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
