ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Less than two weeks ahead of the United States election, Washington on Thursday sanctioned Tehran’s ambassador to Iraq for “destabilizing” activities and five Iranian entities for allegedly interfering in the vote. Tehran responded by applying its own sanctions on American diplomats in Iraq, accusing them of “supporting international terrorism.”
Ambassador Iraj Masjedi served for decades in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and was an advisor to General Qasem Soleimani. He has been ambassador to Iraq since 2017. The US Treasury said Masjedi “played a formative role” in the Quds Force’s activities in Iraq.
“In his decades of service with the group, Masjedi has overseen a program of training and support to Iraqi militia groups, and he has directed or supported groups that are responsible for attacks that have killed and wounded U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. In his current capacity, Masjedi has exploited his position as the Iranian regime’s ambassador in Iraq to obfuscate financial transfers conducted for the benefit of the IRGC-QF [Quds Force],” read a Treasury statement.
Iraq’s powerful Iranian-backed militias want the United States to leave Iraq. After carrying out frequent rocket and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks on American diplomatic and military interests in Iraq over the summer, the militias announced a ceasefire earlier this month on condition the US withdraws from the country.
“The Iranian regime threatens Iraq’s security and sovereignty by appointing IRGC-QF officials as ambassadors in the region to carry out their destabilizing foreign agenda,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
A few hours after the American announcement, Iran slapped its own sanctions on US Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller, deputy ambassador Steven Fagin, and Consul General to Erbil Rob Waller.
The three American diplomats “have been actively involved in providing financial support and assisting terrorist acts against Iranian interests, the government, and people by supporting radical terrorist groups like Daesh [ISIS, Islamic State] and [al-Qaeda-linked] Jabhat al-Nusra,” read a statement published by Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh.
The statement also accused the Americans of playing “active roles” in violating international human rights law, killing Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a January drone strike in Baghdad, and imposing “oppressive and illegal sanctions” on Iran.
“Anti-Iran moves won’t go unanswered,” tweeted Khatibzadeh.
The US Treasury also sanctioned five Iranian entities for allegedly interfering in the election and spreading propaganda.
“The Iranian regime has targeted the United States’ electoral process with brazen attempts to sow discord among the voting populace by spreading disinformation online and executing malign influence operations aimed at misleading U.S. voters. Components of the Government of Iran, disguised as news organizations or media outlets, have targeted the United States in order to subvert U.S. democratic processes,” read a statement from the Treasury department on Thursday.
The IRGC and the IRGC’s Quds Force, both already subject to American sanctions, were named again. Sanctions were also imposed on the Bayan Rasaneh Gostar Institute, which the Treasury said was a front for Quds Force propaganda.
The US also sanctioned two media organizations, the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union and the International Union of Virtual Media. The Treasury said both are owned by the Quds Force.
The sanctions come a day after the US claimed Iran was interfering in the election, an accusation Tehran’s foreign ministry called “fabricated and clumsy.”
The United States has reimposed sanctions on Iran since President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement in 2018, part of a "maximum pressure" campaign to compel Tehran to agree to a new deal.
Updated at 3:25 pm
