The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on Thursday against 19 people, companies and vessels it said are involved in Houthi operations or trading Iranian oil and gas.
A dozen of the people—including the governor of the Houthi-aligned central bank in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital—and companies are involved in “trafficking arms, laundering money and shipping illicit Iranian petroleum for the benefit of the Houthis,” the department stated.
“Today’s action underscores our commitment to leveraging all our tools to disrupt the Houthis’ efforts to acquire weapons, procure dual-use components and secure additional revenue,” stated Bradley Smith, acting U.S. under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence. “The United States will continue to expose these schemes and will hold accountable those who seek to enable the Houthis’s destabilizing activities.”
The four companies and three vessels, which are part of a “shadow fleet” that illegally trades Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals, “generate billions of dollars’ worth of revenue for the Iranian regime,” the department stated separately.
“This revenue supports Iran’s nuclear program, its development and proliferation of provocative ballistic missiles and financing of terrorist proxy groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis,” according to the department. “Vessels transporting Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals frequently use methods of obfuscation and deception to mask this trade, posing a significant danger to the maritime industry.”
Smith said Iran “continues to rely on its shadowy network of vessels, companies and facilitators to finance the development of its nuclear program, the proliferation of its weapons systems and support to its proxies.”
“The United States is committed to targeting Iran’s key revenue streams that fund its destabilizing activities,” he added.
The new sanctions come one day after the Biden administration announced sanctions on Iranian drone companies.