FBI warns that Iran and Russia are interfering in the US elections

The director of US National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, warned that Iran and Russia have obtained information from US voters and are attempting to interfere with the elections on 3 November.

"We want to alert the public that we have identified two foreign actors, Iran and Russia, who have taken specific actions to influence public opinion regarding our elections," Ratcliffe said at an FBI appearance 13 days before the vote.

According to the director of National Intelligence, both Russia and Iran have accessed data on U.S. voters, information that Tehran would have used to harm the president, Donald Trump, according to Ratcliffe.

"We have already seen," he said, "Iran send fake e-mails designed to intimidate voters, incite social tension and harm President Trump.

Ratcliffe also denounced the fact that Tehran is distributing a video "which suggests that individuals may vote fraudulently", something which he said "is not true". "These actions are desperate attempts by desperate opponents," he added.

On Russia, the director of National Intelligence said there is no evidence that he has used the information he has obtained so far.

This appearance comes after Democratic voters in states such as Florida and Alaska have in recent days received intimidating emails allegedly sent by the far-right Proud Boys group.

The emails, which the US claims were actually sent by Iran, threatened the Democrats into voting for Trump.

At the same hearing, the director of the FBI - the agency responsible for ensuring election security, Christopher Wray, said that he "will not tolerate foreign interference" in the US elections. "We have worked for years to build resilience in our electoral infrastructure and today that infrastructure remains strong. You must be confident that your vote counts," Wray said.

The New York Police Department will deploy "hundreds" of additional officers in the run-up to the U.S. elections, according to NYPD Chief Terence Monahan.

The deployment will begin next Monday and will focus on polling station locations. According to Monahan in a press conference, the police expect a high turnout in the elections.

"Ensuring that every New Yorker can cast their vote is the highest priority," he said, while insisting that "if something happens, we will be able to take care of it quickly.

However, he said that so far there were no known threats at the polls and that the police were not expecting any in the coming weeks.

The Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence, John Miller, has also expressed this view and has assured that no activity has been detected by groups planning to sabotage the day in New York City.

"We are aware of the contentious relations and we are confident of two things: the extreme right and the extreme left agree that everyone should vote and that, hopefully, will help us," Miller said, as reported by CNN.

Previously, the Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, had advanced that he had conversations with the city's police about how to prepare for potential riots after the elections and a vote count that is expected to last several days.

"We are going to have a very clear approach, because I am not going to be surprised if there is a recount that is prolonged, there is a recount, whatever it is in this election," said De Blasio, citing also the existence of "extremely strong points of view" and "people coming out to express themselves.

"We have to protect the right to protest and we expect, and should be ready, for many peaceful protests," added the Mayor, as reported by the aforementioned media.

As for possible acts of violence in this context, De Blasio concluded that "they must be stopped", while assuring that peaceful protests have a long history in New York and defending that the New York police force is "very professional".

The US elections of 3 November are threatening to lead to an open scenario, with no clear winner that same night. The increase in the postal vote could delay the recount in states that are key to tipping the balance in favour of one of the two major candidates for the White House, and the president's hesitations about recognising the results do not help dispel doubts.