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Shamkhani Receives Taliban Delegation in Tehran, Blames US for Bloodshed in Afghanistan

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council - TASNIM
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council - TASNIM
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Shamkhani Receives Taliban Delegation in Tehran, Blames US for Bloodshed in Afghanistan

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council - TASNIM
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council - TASNIM

Iranian and Taliban officials met in Tehran on Wednesday and accused the US of provoking the continuation of war in Afghanistan, Iranian State TV reported.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told visiting Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar that the US seeks to continue the war in neighboring Afghanistan.

“The US strategy supports the continuation of war and bloodshed among various Afghan groups in the political spectrum,” Shamkhani was quoted as saying.

He said the US tries to blame insecurity and instability in the country on individual Afghan groups.

There was no immediate comment from the US, which signed a peace agreement with the Taliban last February and met its goal this month of reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan to about 2,500, The Associated Press reported.

Taliban representatives and the Afghan government earlier this month resumed peace talks in Qatar, the Gulf Arab state where the insurgents maintain an office.

The stop-and-go talks are aimed at ending decades of conflict. But frustration and fear have grown over a recent spike in violence, and both sides blame one another.

Baradar, who arrived Monday with a Taliban delegation, criticized the US for allegedly breaking its commitments to the February deal. He did not elaborate.

“We do not trust the US and will fight any group that is a mercenary for the US,” he said.

Iran sees the presence of US forces in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq as a threat on its doorstep and routinely calls for their departure.

Iran and Afghanistan have some 945 kilometers (some 585 miles) of common border.

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Federal Agencies Warn of Foreign Influence Campaigns Targeting US Voters

US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency logo.
US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency logo.
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Federal Agencies Warn of Foreign Influence Campaigns Targeting US Voters

US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency logo.
US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency logo.

The nation’s federal law enforcement and election security agencies are debunking two new examples of Russian election disinformation on the eve of Election Day, highlighting attempts by foreign actors to sow doubt in the US voting process and warning that the efforts run the risk of inciting violence against election officials.
In a joint statement late Monday, federal officials pointed to a recent article posted by Russian actors falsely claiming that US officials across presidential swing states were orchestrating a plan to commit fraud, as well as a video that falsely depicted an interview with an individual claiming election fraud in Arizona, The Associated Press said.
US intelligence reveals that Russia-linked influence actors “are manufacturing videos and creating fake articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters regarding the election process, and suggest Americans are using violence against each other due to political preferences,” read the statement issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “These efforts risk inciting violence, including against election officials.”
A spokesperson for the Russian Embassy did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Federal officials warned that Russia will likely release additional “manufactured content” on Election Day and poses “the most active threat” when it comes to foreign election influence. The statement also noted that Iran remains a “significant foreign influence threat to US elections."
The effort described by federal officials is part of a wide-ranging influence operation by Russia designed to undermine confidence in the electoral process and sow discord among American voters. Intelligence agencies have assessed that Russia, which also interfered on Donald Trump’s behalf in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, again prefers the Republican nominee and is likely to persist in its influence operations well after Election Day.
Besides manufactured videos intended to promote disinformation, US officials also have accused Russian state media of a covert, multimillion-dollar operation to spread pro-Russia content to American audiences and have seized dozens of internet domains they said fostered propaganda.
In their statement, officials also drew fresh attention to Iran’s attempts to interfere in the election, which include a hack-and-leak operation designed to harm Trump’s candidacy. The Justice Department in September charged three Iranian hackers in that effort.
Iranian actors also have created fake news sites and impersonated activists online in attempts to sway voters, according to analysts at Microsoft. The tech giant said last month that Iranian actors who allegedly sent emails aimed at intimidating US voters in 2020 have been surveying election-related websites and major media outlets, raising concerns they could be preparing for another scheme this year.
As large tech firms and intelligence officials have called out foreign interference this election cycle, Russia, China and Iran have rejected claims that they are seeking to meddle with the US election.
The Arizona video promoted on social media by Russian actors on Monday purported to show an anonymous whistleblower revealing an election fraud scheme. Federal officials said the Arizona Secretary of State’s office had already refuted the content of the video.
Earlier this week, US officials confirmed that a video claiming to show voter fraud in two left-leaning counties in Georgia was fake and the product of a Russian troll farm. And last month, they attributed to Russia another fake video of a person tearing up ballots in what appeared to be Bucks County, Pennsylvania.