The United States imposed new sanctions on Monday aimed at cutting off weapons, supplies and funding to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
“The United States remains determined to use the full range of our tools to stem the flow of military-grade materials and commodity sales funds that enable these destabilizing terrorist activities.” Brian Nelson, the U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement.
The sanctions target two individuals and five entities that facilitated the Houthis’ procurement of weapons, as well as individuals, a company and a ship that helped transport goods. “The sale of goods provides the Houthis with an important source of funding.” This helps their weapons procurement,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.
Several of the designated entities are headquartered in China or purchase weapons materials from Chinese companies, according to the Treasury Department.
The U.S. action comes as the Houthis have recently stepped up attacks on ships. The U.S. Navy has responded with retaliatory military action.
The navy said on Sunday it had airlifted crew members from a Greek merchant ship that was attacked in the Red Sea last week. U.S. military Air strikes on Thursday destroyed three anti-ship cruise missile launchers in Houthi-controlled Yemen, according to U.S. Central Command.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singer said on Monday that since mid-November the Houthis have launched about 190 attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, a vital shipping lane that accounts for 10% of world trade. 12% of the amount. The Houthis, the de facto government in northern Yemen whose ideology is built around opposition to Israel and the United States, see themselves as part of an Iran-led “axis of resistance” alongside Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Same.
Their leaders often compare the U.S.-made bombs used against their forces in Yemen to weapons shipped to Israel and used in Gaza.
“The Houthis are able to carry out sustained, indiscriminate and reckless attacks on unarmed merchant ships because they have access to key components needed to produce missiles” and drones, Nelson said.
A U.S. Treasury Department statement accused the Houthis of “killing innocent civilians, causing serious damage to commercial vessels, and threatening freedom of navigation around the world.”
