This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on what it says are members of a smuggling network that produces millions of dollars in revenue for Yemen’s Huthi movement.
“This network generates tens of millions of dollars in revenue from the sale of commodities, like Iranian petroleum, a significant portion of which is then directed through a complex network of intermediaries and exchange houses in multiple countries to the Houthis,” a Treasury statement said on June 10.
The network works with Iran’s Quds Force, the elite arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), to generate the revenue, the statement said.
The move comes amid U.S. pressure on the Iran-aligned movement to accept a cease-fire and peace talks.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to advance a UN effort to ease Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and end fighting between Huthis and Yemen’s government and a Saudi-led coalition.
“The United States will continue to apply pressure to the Huthis, including through targeted sanctions, to advance those goals,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Twelve individuals and entities were slapped with terrorism-related sanctions blocking any U.S. property they hold and barring Americans from doing business with them.
Those targeted by the new sanctions include two Yemenis, two Syrians, one Emirati, one Somali and one Indian national, as well as entities based in Dubai, Istanbul, and Sanaa, which is controlled by the Huthis.
