US Treasury places sanctions on entities funding Houthi rebel attacks in Yemen

The United States Treasury Department placed sanctions on a network of individuals and money exchange houses in Yemen and Turkey on Thursday for allegedly facilitating tens of millions of dollars in funding to Houthi rebels.

The Houthi rebels in Yemen are an Iranian-backed terror group which has recently launched a series of attacks against shipping vessels in the Red Sea.

According to the U.S. Treasury, Iranian-based financial intermediary and previously sanctioned Sa’id Jamal collaborated with Bilal Hudroj, an operative in the Lebanese-based Hodroj Exchange, and Ahmet Duri, the Turkey-based owner of a jewelry store to funnel millions of dollars to the Houthis.

Brian E. Nelson, the Treasury’s under secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said that Thursday’s sanctions “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.”

The restrictions wil block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent those who are sanctioned from doing business with Americans, one of the latest in a series of financial penalties against the rebel group.

“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,” Nelson said.

“The U.S. and its allies will continue to target the key facilitation networks that enable the destabilizing activities of the Houthis and their backers in Iran.”

The Houthis have attacked ships in the region before, but the attacks have increased since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The U.S. Military Central Command reported on Thursday that the USS Mason, a Navy destroyer, shot down a drone and one ballistic missile fired by the Houthis. It was the 22nd attempted attack on international shipping vessels since Oct. 19.

“There was no damage to the any of the 18 ships in the area or reported injuries,” a spokesman for Central Command said.

Last weekend, Houthis attacked three commercial ships and the USS Carney responded to distress calls from the vessels, shooting down multiple drones.

Earlier this month, the White House announced it was encouraging its allies to join the 39-member partnership of the Combined Maritime Forces to combat Houthi attacks in the region.

Due to the attacks, some of the world’s top shipping companies and oil giants have been forced to reroute global trade, forcing up prices and causing delays.