United States Sanctions Orgs Allegedly Funding Houthi Rebels in Yemen
Jose Nino
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On December 28, 2023, the United States Treasury Department announced it was imposing sanctions on organizations in Turkey and Yemen who are allegedly responsible for sending money through illicit means to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The Houthis have recently been ramping up attacks on commercial ships sailing across the Red Sea. This latest set of sanctions are part of a broader American campaign to halt financial aid to Iranian-supported organizations in the Middle East such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
The Houthi rebels are based in Yemen and have carried out multiple attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since the middle of November. The Houthis have used missiles and drones in these attacks. These attacks have worried governments worldwide due to the disruptions they have generated.
On December 28, the US Treasury Department announced that it was slapping sanctions on one individual and three entities allegedly “responsible for facilitating the flow of Iranian financial assistance to Houthi forces and their destabilizing activities”.
“Today’s action underscores our resolve to restrict the illicit flow of funds to the Houthis, who continue to conduct dangerous attacks on international shipping and risk further destabilizing the region,” commented Brian Nelson, the US Treasury Under-Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The sanctions were imposed on the head of the Currency Exchangers Association in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, and three exchange houses in Turkey and Yemen. Per the US Treasury, they “facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars to the Houthis at the direction of . . . Sa’id al-Jamal”, a financier connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps elite task force — the Quds Force.
The Biden regime has blamed Iran for being “deeply involved” in masterminding the Houthi attacks across the Red Sea, which includes supplying the group with “tactical intelligence” to assist it in targeting maritime vessels.
The new US sanctions against Houthi financial networks come at a time when security experts worry that the war in Gaza could proliferate into a larger regional conflict.
The US is clearly following Zionist interests with respect to its efforts to confront Iran and its proxies. If there is one thing that hardcore Zionists and the most fanatic Iran hawks want, it’s a direct conflict with Iran.
US policymakers would be wise to ignore these radical foreign elements and pursue an America First foreign policy of realism and restraint.
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