Shafaq News/ The US Treasury Department announced, on Thursday, the addition of 12 individuals and entities to its sanctions list for their ties to the Houthi movement (Ansarallah), citing their pivotal role in funding destabilizing activities led by the Houthis.
The Treasury highlighted Malaysian and Singaporean nationals Muhammad Ruslan bin Ahmad, residing in Indonesia, and Chinese national Zhang Liang, based in China, who facilitated illicit shipments and engaged in money laundering on behalf of the Houthis.
The statement further identified the "Saeed al-Jamal network" as continuing to funnel tens of millions of dollars to the Houthis in Yemen through shipments of Iranian goods, including oil, bolstering the group's ongoing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Brian Nelson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Intelligence at the Treasury, emphasized that "today's actions highlight the department's focus on disrupting the expansive network of financial facilitators, shell companies, and vessels supporting the Houthi destabilization efforts."
Nelson stated, "The Treasury will continue to target key enablers of this network, limiting the Houthis' ability to further destabilize the region and threaten international trade."
Ansarallah have been launching frequent drone and missile attacks on international commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden since mid-November 2023.
They claim solidarity with Palestinians facing Israel's actions in Gaza.
These near-daily assaults have compelled companies to redirect their ships through longer and more expensive routes around Africa, sparking concerns about potential destabilization in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In response to these attacks, the US and the UK have targeted Houthi assets.
The impact of the Houthi decision reaches halfway to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a 20-kilometer-wide passage that serves as the gateway to the Red Sea. Approximately 15% of global shipping traffic transits through this strait to and from the Suez Canal.
Despite many Western accusations suggesting Iran influences Houthis to target vessels, both Tehran and the Yemeni group deny such claims.
Iran asserted that Ansarallah makes independent decisions akin to other movements in the "Axis of Resistance," which includes Lebanon's Hezbollah, Iraqi factions, and others.
All groups within the Axis have declared that their attacks will persist until a ceasefire is achieved in the Gaza Strip, where Israel's actions have resulted in the deaths of over 39,424 Palestinians, predominantly children, women, and elderly.