US sanctions smuggling network backing Yemen's Houthis
The latest Houthi-related sanctions come as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia push the Biden administration to designate the Iran-supported group as a terrorist organization.
The US Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on a smuggling network that it said was helping fund Yemen's Houthi rebels. The designations come as Biden administration mulls whether to re-designate the entire Iran-backed group as a foreign terrorist organization.
According to Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the sanctioned network is led by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Houthi financier Sa’id al-Jamal, who himself was sanctioned in June 2021. Al-Jamal’s network has allegedly transferred tens of millions of dollars to Yemen through a web of front companies and vessels that smuggle fuel, petroleum and other commodities throughout the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The sanctioning of 13 individuals, entities and a vessel linked to al-Jamal’s network was done in “close coordination and collaboration with regional Gulf partners,” the department said in a statement.
“The United States continues to work with our regional allies to act decisively against those who would seek to prolong this war for their own ambitions,” said Brian Nelson, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
