The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated six Iranian individuals and one entity for a row of attempts to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential elections.
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The U.S. authorities have found from August to November 2020, several attempts by state funded Iranian actors to intimidate and influence American voters. The interference to undermine voter confidence in and the integrity of the elections system came in the form of obtaining or attempting to obtain voter information, sending threatening emails, making a fake video and spreading disinformation concerning the integrity of the system.
The company at the centre of the attempts at election interference is Emennet Pasargad, an entity previously designated under its previous name. Emennet Pasargad is known to have links that provide financial or tech support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Electronic Warfare and Cyber Defense Organization (IRGC-EWCD).
The Treasury designated Iranian national Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar (Shirinkar), the name at the helm of Emennet, who was also previously designated by OFAC in 2019 on the ground of providing material support to the IRGC-EWCD. The Treasury added five Iranian citizens that form the cybercriminal entity’s network as employees and who serve on the company’s Board of Directors.
