By Al-Fassel | 2024-01-29

In a joint action, the United States and United Kingdom on Thursday (January 25) imposed sanctions on four Houthi military officials who have supported the group's "illegal and reckless" attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The sanctions are the first to be jointly imposed against the Iran-backed Houthis by the two countries since the Houthis began their attacks against commercial shipping in the key international waterway in November.

They target Mohamed al-Atifi, the Houthis' so-called "minister of defense," and Muhammad Fadl Abd al-Nabi, "commander" of the Houthis' maritime forces.

They also censure Muhammad Ali al-Qadiri, the so-called "coastal defense forces chief" and "director of the Houthi Naval College," and Muhammad Ahmad al-Talibi, "director of procurement" for the Houthi forces.

"The Houthis' persistent terrorist attacks on merchant vessels and their civilian crews lawfully transiting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden threaten to disrupt international supply chains and the freedom of navigation, which is critical to global security, stability and prosperity," said US Treasury official Brian Nelson.

The joint US-UK action "demonstrates our collective action to leverage all authorities to stop these attacks" which include the hijacking of a ship, he said.

"The UK, alongside partners, will do what is needed to protect the freedom of navigation and secure stability in the region," Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a Thursday statement issued by the British government.

"These sanctions reinforce our clear message to the Houthis in recent weeks," Cameron said. "We can degrade their ability to attack international shipping. We are determined to protect freedom of navigation."

"We will back our words with actions."

"With our allies, we will continue to target those responsible for the Houthis' unacceptable and illegal actions, which risk innocent seafarers’ lives and disrupt aid deliveries to the Yemeni people," he said.

The Houthis' attacks against vessels transiting the Red Sea and surrounding waterways have been carried out using ballistic missiles and drones, causing significant damage to several merchant ships, the US Treasury said.

On November 19, armed members of the Iran-backed group boarded and hijacked the merchant vessel Galaxy Leader using a helicopter in the Red Sea.

The Bahamas-flagged, British-owned vehicle carrier, operated by Japanese firm Nippon Yusen was re-routed to al-Hodeidah along with its crew, who are still being held hostage in Yemen.

Blacklisted Houthi officials

As the Houthis' so-called "minister of defense," al-Atifi publicly stated that the Houthis will "turn the Red Sea into a graveyard" in response to any perceived action against Yemen by Operation Prosperity Guardian, the Treasury said.

Al-Atifi has visited the hijacked Galaxy Leader alongside another blacklisted leader, al-Nabi, the so-called "commander" of the Houthis' maritime forces.

Al-Nabi has publicly committed to continuing attacks against vessels transiting the Red Sea, the Treasury said.

Al-Qadiri was tasked with executing attacks against vessels in the Red Sea, it said.

"Al-Qadiri has publicly threatened to attack international maritime traffic in the Red Sea using advanced weapons and to expand the Houthis' attack campaign against vessels sailing along the entire western coast of Yemen," it added.

Meanwhile, al-Talibi has been leading the Houthis' efforts to smuggle Iranian-provided weapons, missiles, drones and components needed to manufacture these weapons systems into Yemen, the Treasury said.

"In his role, al-Talibi coordinates arms shipments through the smuggling networks of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and answers directly to principal Houthi forces' decision makers," it said.

Warning to the Houthis

In addition to the measures imposed by the United States, the "four key Houthi figures involved in the attacks will be subject to UK asset freezes, arms embargoes and travel bans," the British government said Thursday.

Pre-existing sanctions against 11 Houthi individuals and two entities remain in force, it added, noting that these include sanctions against Houthi "security chief" Sultan Zabin, who was sanctioned by the United Nations in February 2021.

Zabin, also blacklisted by the United States, had headed up "a campaign of systematic arrest, detention, torture, sexual violence and rape against politically active women in Yemen," it said.

Since illegally seizing power in 2014, the Houthis have waged economic warfare at the expense of ordinary Yemenis, and carried out numerous human rights abuses against the Yemeni people, the British government said.

These include "routine and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, recruitment of child soldiers and restricting the rights and freedoms of women."

"By continuing to attack ships in the Red Sea, the Houthis are imperiling the delivery of vital aid from reaching Yemen, which is reliant on food imports," it said.

The latest sanctions follow joint strikes on January 11 and January 22 on targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, led by the United States and United Kingdom, with support from the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain and Australia.

They also follow a meeting between Cameron and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at the World Economic Forum, where Cameron made it clear that the attacks on shipping in the Red Sea are illegal and unacceptable.

He called on Iran to use its influence with the Houthis to prevent further threats.

The United States re-designated the Houthis as a "terrorist group" on January 17, with an effective date of February 16.

"If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will reevaluate this designation," Blinken said at the time.

But the Houthis have so far failed to heed the warning.