US Sanctions IRGC-Backed Network Financing Houthis

The US Department of Treasury slapped sanctions against 13 individuals and entities over their role in financing Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

The involved individuals and firms were “responsible for providing tens of millions of dollars’ worth of foreign currency generated from the sale and shipment of Iranian commodities” to Yemeni Houthis, the US Department of Treasury announced in a statement on Thursday.

Supported by the IRGC extraterritorial Quds force, the financing system operated through “a complex network of exchange houses and companies in multiple jurisdictions,” the statement added.

The Department of Treasury identified the mastermind behind this complicated network as Sa’id al-Jamal who served as the financial facilitator for Houthis and IRGC Quds force.

Washington said the sanctions target “an important conduit through which Iranian money reaches the country’s militant partners in Yemen.”

Though the Islamic Republic has avoided any direct military involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the regime has used its allies such as Houthis and Hezbollah to attack Israeli and American targets in the region.

Houthis have intensified their attacks since the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas collapsed on December 1. On Sunday, an American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack in the Red Sea.

“The Houthis continue to receive funding and support from Iran, and the result is unsurprising: unprovoked attacks on civilian infrastructure and commercial shipping, disrupting maritime security and threatening international commercial trade,” Brian E. Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, stressed.

Though US warships have intercepted most of the missiles and drones launched by Houthis of Yemen, the Biden administration is receiving more and more criticism over its failure to deter Iran and its proxies in the Middle East.