Treasury Sanctions Iranian Regime Agents Trying to Interfere in U.S. Elections

The United States is taking steps to defend and protect U.S. campaign and government officials from Iranian attempts to interfere in the U.S. election.

WASHINGTON Today, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated seven individuals as part of a coordinated U.S. government response to Iranian operations to influence or interfere in Washington's presidential elections. 2024 and 2020. Iranian state-sponsored actors have undertaken various malicious cyber activities, such as hack-and-leak and spear phishing operations, with the aim of undermining trust in U.S. electoral processes and institutions and to interfere with political campaigns. The designations undertaken today pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 13848 complement law enforcement actions taken by the Department of Justice against various Iranian election interference actors.

The U.S. government continues to closely monitor efforts by malicious actors to influence or interfere with the integrity of our elections, said Bradley T. Smith, Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Treasury, as part of a whole-of-government effort leveraging all available tools and authorities, remains firmly committed to holding to account those who seek to undermine our institutions.

In the summer of 2024, the U.S. government identified that the Iranian government sought to stoke discord and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions, using social engineering and other efforts to gain access to people with a direct access to presidential campaigns. Such activities, including thefts and disclosures, are intended to influence the US electoral process. Since at least May 2024, Iran-based hackers have intensified their malicious targeting of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. These intrusions have been reported to be the work of APT 42 and Mint Sandstorm by private security companies .

Iranian election interference and malicious cyber operationsInterference in the 2024 US presidential election

Since at least May 2024, Masoud Jalili (Jalili) and other members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have compromised multiple accounts of officials and advisors to a 2024 presidential campaign and disclosed stolen data to members of the media and others with the aim of influencing the 2024 United States presidential election, using technical infrastructure known to be associated with Jalili. Jalili is also responsible for malicious cyber operations targeting a former US government official in 2022. In 2022, Jalili used spear phishing to attempt to compromise the personal accounts of former US officials.

OFAC designated Jalili pursuant to EO 13848 for having been controlled by, or acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the IRGC, a person whose property and real estate interests are blocked pursuant to EO 13848. EO 13848.

In addition to his designation, the Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging Jalili and two IRGC co-conspirators, and the U.S. Department's Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $10 million of dollars for information on Jalili and his two associates for their attempted interference in the US elections.

Interference in the 2020 US presidential election

Today, OFAC also names six employees and executives of Emennet Pasargad, an Iranian cybersecurity company formerly known as Net Peygard Samavat Company, which attempted to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Between approximately August and November 2020, Emennet Pasargad conducted an online operation aimed at intimidating and influencing American voters, undermining voter confidence, and sowing discord, in connection with the 2020 United States presidential election. Emennet Pasargad personnel obtained or attempted to obtain information about U.S. voters from U.S. state election websites, sent threatening emails to intimidate voters, and crafted and disseminated disinformation regarding the election and election security. In November 2021, OFAC designated Emennet Pasargad pursuant to EO 13848 for attempting to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and five associates of Emennet Pasargad pursuant to EO 13848 for acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of Emennet Pasargad.

In February 2019, OFAC designated Emennet Pasargad pursuant to EO 13606 for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support, or goods or services to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Electronic Warfare and cybersecurity. Defense organization. Net Peygard Samavat Company was involved in a malicious cyber campaign aimed at accessing and planting malware on the computer systems of current and former U.S. counterintelligence agents. After being designated, the company Net Peygard Samavat renamed itself Emennet Pasargad, presumably to evade sanctions and continue its malicious cyber operations.

DESIGNATION OF EMPLOYEES OF EMENNET PASARGAD

Ali Mahdavian, Fatemeh Sadeghi, and Elaheh Yazdi are employees of Emennet Pasargad and were named to a November 2023 U.S. Department of State Justice Awards program. They are also employees of Emennet Pasargad.

OFAC designated Ali Mahdavian, Fatemeh Sadeghi, Elaheh Yazdi, Sayyed Mehdi Rahimi Hajjiabadi, Mohammad Hosein Abdolrahimi, and Rahmatollah Askarizadeh pursuant to EO 13848 for being controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Emennet. Pasargad, a person whose property and real estate interests are blocked pursuant to EO 13848.

IMPLICATIONS OF SANCTIONS

As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, all entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons, are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempted, OFAC regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or in transit) of the United States that involve property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.

Additionally, financial institutions and other individuals that engage in certain transactions or activities with sanctioned individuals may be subject to sanctions or enforcement action. Prohibitions include making any contribution or supply of funds, goods or services by, to or for the benefit of any designated person, or receiving any contribution or supply of funds, goods or services from 'such a person.

OFAC's sanctions power and integrity derive not only from OFAC's ability to designate and add individuals to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove individuals from the SDN List in accordance with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about positive change in behavior. For more information on the process of requesting removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN list, please refer to OFAC Frequently Asked Questions 897 here. For detailed information on the process of submitting a request to be removed from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.

Click here for more information on today's nominees.

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