Yemen Monitor / Newsroom
The United States announced on Thursday that it has imposed sanctions on one individual and six companies, and has seized three vessels for their involvement in securing illicit revenues to support the destabilizing activities of the Houthis on behalf of their financier, Said Al-Jamal, who is supported by the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
A statement issued by the U.S. Department of State clarified that “the US has also sanctioned one company and has seized four of its vessels linked to Hezbollah official Mohammed Qassem al-Bazal, as well as an Iranian liquefied natural gas shipment worth tens of millions of dollars.”
The statement noted that since “the Houthis began their attacks on navigation in the Red Sea last year, the US has imposed sanctions on dozens of entities, individuals, and vessels linked to Al-Jamal’s network.”
The revenues generated by this network fund the Houthis’ reckless attacks in vital waterways and strikes on civilian infrastructure, resulting in devastating consequences for the region and the world.”
The statement added, “We will continue to use the tools available to deprive the Houthis of the revenue needed to carry out their attacks on international shipping, and we will continue to confront the Houthi attacks enabled by Iran.”
Since the end of last year, the Houthis have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and recently expanded their operations to the Indian Ocean. They claim to be targeting vessels linked to Israel, which is conducting a brutal assault on the Gaza Strip. However, the Yemeni government and experts say that the Houthis’ targets are local, aimed at escaping internal crises and improving their image in the region.
In response, the U.S. and the UK have been conducting airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi militants since January 11. As a result, the Houthis announced the expansion of their operations to include U.S. and British vessels.
Since November, the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) has recorded more than 190 attacks on U.S. commercial or military vessels off the coast of Yemen, including nearly 100 attacks since the onset of U.S. airstrikes on Yemen.
