Washington’s attempts to silence opposing voices are aimed at drawing the public eye away from problems at home, an Iranian academic has said

The US is riddled with domestic problems and has long lost its position as a global superpower, but it refuses to accept that fact and uses sanctions to create the illusion that it is still in control, political analyst and Tehran University professor Seyed Mohammed Marandi told RT on Friday. Speaking mere hours after Washington announced a slew of new restrictions targeting the Russian outlet, Marandi said the measures are yet another sign that the American “regime” is “neither free, nor democratic.”

The US State Department on Friday accused RT of funding an entire covert disinformation network aimed at influencing public opinion, interfering in US elections, and generally “meddling in the sovereign affairs” of countries around the world. Just days before, American intelligence agencies hurled similar accusations against China and Iran, claiming both have been trying to influence the outcome of the upcoming US presidential election. According to Marandi, it is “ironic” that the US is accusing others of the tactics it has long employed itself.

“It’s very clear the US has a long history of coup d’etats, of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, of manipulating elections… It’s all ridiculous. The irony is clear for everyone to see… the irony of what the US is claiming with regard to Iran or how its behaving towards Iran or Russia,” the analyst argued.

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According to Marandi, the US is targeting other countries and their media with sanctions to cover up its own flaws in judgment and failed domestic and foreign policies.

“Things in the US are not good, the people are dissatisfied, the country is deeply divided… Then the US is waging confrontation and war all across the board… They simply can’t do this anymore. So instead of accepting reality that their policies are wrong, they try to blame others for their problems.”

America apparently has a very weak and vulnerable regime if the Iranians and the Russians can easily manipulate events in the US… The US should really step down and accept that it’s no longer a superpower.

Marandi noted that by sanctioning RT, the US just proved once more that it lacks “self-confidence” to play fair and “no argument to put forward to counter… what the Russians or the Iranians or the Palestinians have to say.”

“The empire lacks self-confidence, and that lack of self-confidence is because people at the top are recognizing that the Titanic is sinking,” Marandi added, warning that unless authorities in Washington “pursue more sane policies” with regard to other nations, the situation is “going to get worse.”

Watch the full interview here: