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Khamenei Invites Cuba to Form ‘Global Alliance’ Against US

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei met in Tehran on Monday with visiting Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei met in Tehran on Monday with visiting Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel
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Khamenei Invites Cuba to Form ‘Global Alliance’ Against US

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei met in Tehran on Monday with visiting Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei met in Tehran on Monday with visiting Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel

Iran and Cuba on Monday pledged to strengthen their relations in various fields and to stand together in the face of US sanctions imposed on the two countries.
During a meeting with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who is visiting Tehran for the first time, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called for a global coalition against what he called “US and Western arrogance.”
He said, “The numerous political and economic capacities of Iran and Cuba should be used to form an alliance and a coalition between countries that have the same stance against the coercive behaviors of the US and Western countries.”
The Supreme Leader’s website also quoted Khamenei as saying that, “By focusing on economic cooperation, this coalition can take a common and effective position on important global issues such as the Palestinian issue.”
Khamenei then noted that the position of the Cuban president on global issues, especially the issue of Palestine, is in line with the views of Iran.
During the meeting, Iran’s Supreme Leader also reflected on the meeting he had 22 years ago with Fidel Castro, the late leader of Cuba. “The Cuban Revolution and the personality of Mr. Castro always had a special appeal for Iranian revolutionaries before the victory of the Iranian Revolution and this was due to his honesty in his revolutionary positions,” he affirmed.
He added that “revolutionary honesty, revolutionary steadfastness and revolutionary seriousness" are the common features of the Cuban Revolution and the Iranian Revolution, even though Iran imposes a ban on the activities of leftist parties that participated in the revolution that overthrew the Shah's regime in 1979.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said during a joint statement with his visiting Cuban counterpart that, “There is a serious determination between the two countries to develop relations,” adding that "the common feature of the two countries is that they both stand against the system of domination.”
Cuba has been under a US embargo since 1962 and is included on the American list of countries supporting terrorism — like Iran, which is also subject to severe sanctions linked primarily to its nuclear program.
According to Raisi, “What can neutralize the sanctions is the exchange of capacities between the two countries,” referring to the policy that Khamenei has presented as a means to nullify Western sanctions targeting Tehran.
Diaz-Canel, who arrived in Tehran on Sunday after participating in the UN’s COP28 climate talks in Dubai, thanked Iran for supporting his country's “fight against the cruel embargo” imposed by the United States.
Seven memorandums of understanding and cooperation documents were signed between the two countries in a range of sectors, including science and technology, health, agriculture, energy and mining, communications and medicine.
Cuba is going through its worst economic crisis since the disappearance of Soviet subsidies in the 1990s.
Raisi visited Havana in June on the last stop of a tour of “friendly countries” in Latin America, which also included Venezuela.

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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.