US sanctions individual, six firms involved in funding Yemen’s Houthis

WASHINGTON, The United States imposed Thursday sanctions on one individual and six companies, and blocking three vessels, for their involvement in illicit revenue generation to support the Yemeni Houthi group. The United States is also sanctioning one company and blocking four of its vessels tied to Hizballah official Muhammad Qasim al-Bazzal and the shipment of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas valued at tens of millions of dollars, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State Vedant Patel said in a news statement. Since the Houthis began their attacks on Red Sea shipping last year, the United States has sanctioned dozens of entities, individuals, and ships associated with the network of al-Jamal, he added. The revenue from this network finances the Houthis' reckless attacks in vital waterways and strikes on civilian infrastructure, with devastating consequences for the region and globe. "We will continue to use the tools at our disposal to deprive the Houthis of revenue to carry out their attacks on international shipping, and we will continue to confront Iran's enabling Houthi attacks," he stated. In a number of statements, the US has deplored Houthi militias' attacks at commercial ships. On January 17, the US placed again Houthis on terror lists because of their attacks launched on ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the forces stationed in the region. Source : Kuwait News Agency