The U.S. Department of Justice’s actions against alleged Iranian influence campaigns continued this week with the seizure of 27 internet domains, including four that the feds say were targeted directly at U.S. audiences.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unlawfully used the domains in operations to “covertly influence” opinions in the U.S. and elsewhere, the department said in an announcement Wednesday. In early October, the feds seized 92 domains under similar allegations. Later that month, the Treasury Department sanctioned five Iran-linked organizations for spreading disinformation and making other attempts to sow discord in the U.S.
As with previous announcements, U.S. officials cited help from Silicon Valley giants.
“Thanks to our ongoing collaboration with Google, Facebook, and Twitter, the FBI was able to disrupt this Iranian propaganda campaign and we will continue to pursue any attempts by foreign actors to spread disinformation in our country,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig Fair.
This week’s announcement does not mention the 2020 U.S. elections, nor did the Justice Department’s Oct. 8 statement about the previous domain seizures. The law enforcement actions come, however, as the U.S. presidential election remains undecided and federal agencies are on high alert for foreign meddling and misinformation as several states are counting votes.
The Oct. 22 Treasury sanctions announcement did cite election interference. It came the day after U.S. seizes domains suspected iranian influence campaign
