US Sanctions Network Supporting Houthis Under Quds Force Supervision for Financing

The US Treasury Department on Wednesday, the 4th of Esfand, sanctioned a collection of individuals and legal entities that, according to the department, are part of the Houthi insurgents’ financial network.

These sanctions were imposed in response to the intensification of Houthi drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in recent months.

The US Treasury Department stated in an announcement that these sanctions were coordinated with Washington’s allies in the region and will be enforced. However, it appears that the severity of these sanctions is less than what Saudi Arabia and the UAE had requested from Washington.

The main targets of these sanctions are commercial companies, shipping firms, and exchange houses that, according to the US Treasury Department, assist Yemen’s Houthis through smuggling petroleum products and other raw materials and consumer goods in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

The US Treasury Department stated in part of its announcement that this network, which operates under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force and Said al-Jamal, one of the main organizers of Houthi financial operations, has generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the group so far.

Brian Nelson, Deputy Treasury Secretary for Counterterrorism, said: “The United States will continue its cooperation with allied nations in the region to counter groups that seek to prolong Yemen’s war to consolidate their power. Yemeni Houthi leaders must end violent attacks and negotiate in good faith to end the war.”

The US Treasury Department’s announcement adds that Wednesday’s decision was made in connection with a 2007 executive order, under which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force was placed on the US sanctions list for supporting Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups.

The counterterrorism and illicit financial activities section of the US Treasury Department also sanctioned Said al-Jamal in June 2021 for his effective role in providing financial support to the Houthi insurgents.

The US Treasury Department stated in another section of its announcement that the main targets of the new sanctions are Said al-Jamal’s international commercial network, several international currency exchange and transfer networks that cooperate with the Houthis, and several shipping companies that transport goods from Said al-Jamal’s commercial network.

Regarding Said al-Jamal’s international commercial network, several merchants and brokers residing in Persian Gulf countries and Europe, and two petroleum product transport companies in the Middle East, have been placed on America’s new sanctions list.

Two currency exchange and transfer networks, one in Turkey and another in Yemen, which play active roles in Said al-Jamal’s commercial network transactions, have also been sanctioned.

As a result of these sanctions, all assets and property of individuals and legal entities on this list in the United States will be frozen, and US citizens and companies will be penalized by the Treasury Department if they conduct transactions with these individuals.

The Biden administration has attempted since last year to limit the scope of the Yemen war and encourage the conflicting parties to negotiate to resolve this crisis.

US diplomatic efforts and the United Nations have not yet yielded results, and the increased attacks by Houthis on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in recent months have intensified this crisis.

Source: Radio Farda