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Published 01:37 IST, October 23rd 2020

Iran rebuffs US accusations about election meddling as 'absurd' and 'desperate'

As the run-up to the US Election 2020 intensifies, Iran has hit back against the United States' accusations of meddling in the upcoming presidential vote.

Reported by: Shubham Bose
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Iran calls US accusations on election meddling 'absurd'
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As the run-up to the US Election 2020 intensifies, Iran has hit back against the United States' accusations of meddling in the upcoming presidential vote. As per Newsweek reports, the Iranian mission to the United Nations has called US allegations against Iran as "absurd" and a desperate attempt to undermine the elections.

Iran's strong rebuttal of meddling allegations comes after US Intelligence chief John Ratcliffe on Wednesday, October 21 said that Iran and Russia had somehow obtained voter data and were planning to use it to undermine the US presidential vote.

Read: US Officials: Russia, Iran Have Obtained Voter Info

Iran calls US allegations 'absurd'

During the Wednesday press conference, Ratcliffe stated that Tehran had tried to intimidate registered Democrats by sending threatening emails by masquerading as representatives of the white supremacist 'Proud Boys' group. It is well known that Ratcliffe is a staunch Trump ally and he also added that the emails were sent by Tehran in an effort to damage Trump’s chances of re-election.

As per reports, Ratcliffe did not share details on how Russia has been utilising the acquired voter data. Even FBI Director Christopher Wray said that both Russia and Iran have acquired voter registration information and are using that data to launch a disinformation campaign that will impact US Election 2020.

Read: Russia Calls For Collective Security In Gulf, US Blames Iran

In response, Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesperson for the Iranian mission to the UN in New York claimed that Ratcliffe’s concerns were baseless and that the Trump administration was becoming desperate. As per reports, Miryousefi added that the accusations against Iran were nothing more than another scenario to undermine voter confidence. He said Iran has no interest in interfering in the US election and neither does it have any preference for the outcome while calling for an to the "dangerous accusations" against the Islamic Republic.

Meanwhile, Trump and his allies have been trying to undermine the upcoming US presidential vote for weeks now, whether it is through accusations of meddling by foreign governments or potential dangers of mail-in ballots.

(With Agency inputs, Image AP)

Read: Iran Summons Swiss Envoy For US Attack Accusations

Read: FBI Confirms Iran, Russia Obtained US Voter Information To 'sow Chaos'

Updated 01:37 IST, October 23rd 2020