‘Today’s action underscores our commitment to disrupt the Houthis’ efforts to fund their dangerous and destabilizing attacks in the region,’ says Treasury
The Trump administration unveiled fresh sanctions Monday on a Houthi procurement network, targeting three shipping companies and their owners for helping the Iran-backed terror group smuggle millions of dollars in illicit oil products.
One of the companies, Zaas Shipping and Trading Co., transports oil and gas on behalf of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, generating revenue for the Islamic regime that in turn funds the Houthis and other terror proxies. The other two companies, Great Success Shipping Co. and Bagsak Shipping Inc., are known to dump oil and gas into a Houthi-controlled port in Yemen, violating separate sanctions on the terror entity and providing much-needed cash for its operations.
The sanctions come as the United States targets the Houthis with rounds of airstrikes aimed at ending the terror organization’s attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea. Those strikes have hit more than 800 targets in Yemen, according to the U.S. military, including stockpiles of ballistic missiles and drones. The Houthis have hit back in some cases—last week, U.S. military officials confirmed that the Houthis had successfully downed at least seven American Reaper drones over the past month and a half.
By cutting off the terror group’s chief revenue sources, the Trump administration hopes to deny the Houthis the ability to source advanced weapons used to conduct these offensive operations. Shortly after President Donald Trump took office, he returned the Houthis to the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organizations list, which enabled the Treasury Department to issue the new sanctions.
“Today’s action underscores our commitment to disrupt the Houthis’ efforts to fund their dangerous and destabilizing attacks in the region,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender said in a statement. “Treasury will continue to leverage our tools and authorities to target those who seek to enable the Houthis’ ability to exploit the people of Yemen and continue their campaign of violence.”
The Houthis currently control three key Red Sea ports located along Yemen’s coastline: Hudaydah, Ras Isa, and As-Salif. The terror group takes in “millions of dollars derived from port revenue and the seizure of refined petroleum products imported through these ports to fund their reckless attack campaign against U.S. interests and those of our allies in the region,” according to the Treasury Department.
“The group sells refined petroleum products delivered through these ports at exorbitant prices on Yemen’s black market, which enables Houthi operatives to purchase military materials, creates an artificial shortage of essential goods for average Yemenis, and fuels rampant corruption among Houthi leaders,” the Treasury Department said in its fact sheet.
American military forces have targeted both the Ras Isa and As-Salif ports in recent months, destroying infrastructure and fuel supplies that help the Houthis generate cash. Monday’s sanctions are meant to complement the military action and send a warning message to those who are still willing to do business with the terror group.
Under the new measures, the Marshall Islands-registered Zaas Shipping and Trading Co. will face sanctions for delivering liquefied petroleum gas—a vital revenue stream for Iran’s proxies—into the Ras Isa port. One of the firm’s ships, the Tulip BZ, was caught discharging its cargo at the port as recently as April 10.
“The Tulip BZ vessel was used to transport petrochemical products on behalf of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps,” which itself is a designated terror outfit, according to the Treasury Department. “The Tulip BZ has also been used to transport petroleum products on behalf of Iran.”
The Mauritius-registered Bagsak Shipping Inc. will also face sanctions for delivering gas and oil into the Ras Isa port via its Panama-flagged Maisan vessel. The ship last offloaded cargo into the Houthi-controlled port on April 8, and has also been involved “in the export of Russian crude oil and petroleum products from Russian ports since February 2023,” the Treasury Department said.
A third firm, the Marshall Islands-registered Great Success Shipping Co., is being sanctioned for using the Ras Isa port to deliver oil through its Panama-flagged White Whale ship. Like the other vessels, the White Whale was spotted offloading its cargo earlier this month.
This article was originally published at freebeacon.com
