According to the head of US National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Russia and Iran "intervened" in the electoral process in the United States, having received information about American voters.

“We would like to inform the public: we managed to establish that two foreign actors - Iran and Russia - took concrete actions to influence public opinion regarding our elections ... We confirmed that Iran and independently of it Russia managed to get hold of certain information registered voters, ”Ratcliffe said.

The Director of National Intelligence also noted that this data can be used to provide registered voters with false information in order to confuse them, "wreak havoc and undermine the credibility of American democracy."

“We've already seen Iran sending fake emails in an attempt to intimidate voters, create public unrest and harm President Trump,” Ratcliffe said.

In addition, he accused Tehran of distributing a video about possible falsification of votes, including from abroad, which, in his words, is "unreliable."

"These are desperate measures on the part of desperate enemies," added the head of US National Intelligence.

At the same time, he admitted that, although such actions on the part of Moscow are not observed, the United States allegedly knows that Russia has taken possession of "certain information about voters, as it was done in 2016."

“Be sure that we are ready for possible actions by opponents of democracy,” the director of the National Intelligence Service warned.

He said that the United States "will not tolerate" foreign interference in elections and is ready to "force the bills to pay and face the consequences" of anyone who does.

  • Director of US National Intelligence John Ratcliffe

  • © Gabriella Demczuk / Pool via REUTERS

Tehran reacted to the accusations of the head of the American National Intelligence Service.

Alireza Miryusefi, a spokesman for Iran's UN mission, flatly rejected them in an interview with ABC News.

“Unlike the United States, Iran does not interfere in the electoral processes of other countries.

The entire world has witnessed a desperate attempt by the United States to question the outcome of its own elections at the highest level, he said.

“These absurd accusations are just another attempt to undermine voters' confidence in the security of the American elections.

Iran is not interested in interfering in American elections and has no preference for their outcome.

The US must stop making malicious and dangerous accusations against Iran. "

Moscow's reaction was not long in coming.

Thus, the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov told reporters that all such accusations against Russia are "absolutely groundless."

"The accusations are pouring in every day, they are all absolutely groundless, they are not based on anything, it is rather a tribute to the internal political processes associated with the upcoming elections (President of the United States. -

RT

)," he said, noting that he was commenting on this topic. regret. "

Circle of accusations

Let us remind you that Russia is most often accused of meddling in the elections.

Thus, during an interview last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded positively to the question “about attempts by China and Russia, as well as other countries, to spread disinformation using electronic means to interfere with the holding” of the US presidential election and “embroil” the Americans.  

“Yes, there are such attempts - both from China and from Iran.

Russia is also trying to spread disinformation, ”Pompeo said.

According to him, the governments of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China are "opposed to the successful elections."

“They seek to undermine the very values ​​that underlie the exclusivity of our country,” the US Secretary of State said.

Late last month, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, in an interview with NBC, promised Russia "consequences" for alleged "interference" in the American elections.

At the same time, the politician did not provide relevant evidence.

In addition, during August alone, many American politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, announced about Russia's "interference" in the electoral process.

For example, the acting head of the US Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolfe, in an interview with Axios, said that Washington “is doing everything to make Russia accountable for its actions” regarding “interference” in the presidential elections in the United States.

According to him, "judging by the intelligence, no doubt," Moscow "has continued to do this for the past four years."

  • Supporters of US President Donald Trump outside the White House

  • © Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, also announced Russia's "interference" in the elections.

According to her version, the Russian side allegedly "is again trying to support Donald Trump and help him get re-elected."

Moreover, such actions "on the part of Putin and the Kremlin" are "a constant threat to the democratic system" of the United States, the politician believes.

US Assistant to the President for National Security Robert O'Brien, in an interview with CBS, threatened Moscow with "serious consequences" if it attempts to interfere in the 2020 American election process.

According to him, the Russian Federation is trying to "gain access to the websites of state secretaries, collect data on Americans and conduct operations to exert influence."

The director of the US National Center for Counterintelligence and Security, William Evanina, in turn, said that Russia wants to "blacken" Biden, and "some Kremlin-related actors" intend to strengthen Trump's position through social networks and Russian television.

In addition, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and the head of the intelligence committee, Adam Schiff, in a joint statement assert that Moscow is allegedly "actively taking a number of measures to undermine the presidential election and ensure the outcome that the Kremlin considers most in its interests."

"Explain the loss"

According to political scientist and US expert Malek Dudakov, the current accusations by the United States against Russia and Iran are meaningless, since “to obtain information about the US voters, there is no need to hack anything - such data in this country is sold for little money”.

“At the same time, Washington does not indicate how exactly Russia or Iran could use this kind of information to hinder the electoral process.

In addition, the American authorities, obviously, do not have evidence, since they do not support their strange theses in any way, ”the analyst said in a conversation with RT.

He also drew attention to the fact that this time the claims to the Russian Federation were made by the director of the National Intelligence Service were not accidental.

“This position assumes overseeing the activities of all US intelligence services, including the FBI, CIA.

Therefore, when Ratcliffe announces the malicious actions of the Russian Federation and Iran, he speaks on behalf of the entire intelligence community, "the expert explained.

From the point of view of the head of the Center for Political-Military Studies of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Batyuk, "the Americans are sure that the availability of evidence in this case is excessive."

"In this case, they have only one" proof "- the wording" russians did it "(" the Russians did it ")," the expert stated in an interview with RT.

According to him, on the whole, accusations against Russia and Iran are "one of the indicators of a serious internal political crisis in the United States."

“Washington claims that the Russian side allegedly disseminated some information among the Americans that was supposed to negatively affect them.

But this approach, whatever one may say, has inconsistencies.

After all, the United States, as the Americans themselves claim, is a country of freedom of speech, everyone there can receive any information and draw their own conclusions based on it.

The First Amendment to the US Constitution also states this.

Against this background, accusations against Russia and Iran seem doubly strange, ”Batyuk says. 

At the same time, as Malek Dudakov emphasized, "the strategy of accusing Russia of interference is beneficial to both Republicans and Democrats."

  • U.S. polling station in Florida, October 21, 2020

  • Reuters

  • © Octavio Jones

“Indeed, in this case, they can explain their possible loss in the elections precisely by the“ malicious ”actions of the Russian Federation and Iran.

However, Democrats are still more interested in tougher rhetoric on this issue, who groundlessly continue to claim that the Russians are allegedly helping Trump.

If the current head of the White House manages to be re-elected, the Democratic Party may declare that the Russian Federation has again “led” Trump to victory, ”the analyst said.

In his opinion, the position of the Republicans boils down to the fact that "Russia is allegedly trying to sow chaos during the elections, but does not support anyone."

He also predicted that the "Russian card" will continue to be actively played in the discussion of corruption scandals around Biden and his son Hunter, as well as in other similar stories.

“And the more hype will be around new details, the more actively the members of the Democratic Party will say that Russia has invented and promoted all this,” the analyst said.

According to Batyuk, in the context of the upcoming elections and the counting of votes, "the topic of the notorious Russian interference remains extremely relevant."

“It is already obvious that these processes will be very difficult, numerous scandals and mutual accusations are possible, here, of course, it will not do without claims against Moscow,” the expert concluded.