By Al-Fassel | 2024-02-29

The United States and United Kingdom February 27 announced a new round of joint sanctions targeting individuals and organizations that support and enable the Iran-backed Houthis across the Middle East.

The coordinated action is reflective of the two nations' "bilateral partnership in the global fight against terrorism," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, and follows an earlier round of joint sanctions.

It follows hard on the heels of a fourth round of joint US-UK strikes on 18 Houthi targets -- weapon storage facilities, attack drones, air defense systems, radars and a helicopter -- in eight locations in Yemen on February 24.

Blacklisted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF) deputy commander Mohammad Reza Falahzadeh is "a Houthi-affiliated operative who has supported the Houthis' aggressive actions," the US State Department said.

The UK government said it sanctioned the IRGC-QF's Unit 190 -- which is "in charge of transferring and smuggling weapons to organizations, groups and states that are allied with Iran" -- along with its Unit 6000 and Unit 340.

Unit 6000 oversees operations on the Arabian Peninsula and has personnel on the ground in Yemen supporting Houthi military activity, it said; while Unit 340 provides "training and technical support to groups backed by Iran."

"The IRGC-QF has provided the Houthis with an increasingly sophisticated arsenal of weapons and the training to deploy these weapons against commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure," the US Treasury said.

Iranian military officials also have provided intelligence support to target vessels transiting the region, it added, which enables the Houthis' dozens of maritime attacks on international shipping.

The United States also blacklisted Ibrahim al-Nashiri, a member of the Houthis who owned and operated a vessel used to ship Iranian commodities in support of both the Houthis and IRGC-QF, the US Treasury said.

And the United Kingdom sanctioned Houthi security minister Ali Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi "for threatening the peace, security and stability of Yemen by supporting attacks against shipping in the Red Sea."

"The attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis are unacceptable, illegal and a threat to innocent lives and freedom of navigation," British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said.

The Iranian regime "bears responsibility for these attacks due to the extensive military support it has provided to the Houthis," he added.

"All those who seek to undermine regional stability should know that the UK, alongside our allies, will not hesitate to act."

"As the Houthis persistently threaten the security of peaceful international commerce, the United States and the United Kingdom will continue to disrupt the funding streams that enable these destabilizing activities," said US Treasury official Brian E. Nelson.

Iranian facilitators

Falahzadeh has served as the IRGC-QF deputy commander since April 2021.

He was an IRGC-QF officer in Syria during the war, and previously served as chief of Karbala Roads and Urban Development, a subsidiary of Khatam al-Anbia Construction Headquarters, the construction conglomerate of the IRGC.

The conglomerate, which is under US sanctions already, manages projects worth tens of billions of dollars.

The IRGC-QF and the Houthis sell Iranian commodities to foreign buyers to generate revenue to fund Houthi operations, the US Treasury said.

Much of this activity is directed through the network of Iran-based, IRGC-QF-backed Houthi financial facilitator Said al-Jamal, who heads a network of front companies and vessels that generate revenue for the Houthis.

The United States sanctioned al-Jamal on June 10, 2021, for his support of the IRGC-QF, with the United Kingdom following suit on February 27.

The United States also blacklisted two additional companies that own and operate a vessel involved in shipping more than $100 million in Iranian commodities on behalf of Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).

MODAFL continues to facilitate the delivery of Iranian weapons and drones to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine and to Iran-aligned militias in the Middle East, Miller said.

The vessel, Artura, owned and operated by Hong Kong-based Cap Tees Shipping Co., Ltd., has transported Iranian commodities for al-Jamal's network.

It has obscured its identity by using the name of a different vessel, Sanan II, to complete some of its shipments, the US Treasury said.

Economic disruptions

The latest US-UK sanctions "are targeted and are not intended to disrupt or delay the delivery of life saving aid, food imports or commercial activity involving support to the people of Yemen," the UK government said.

Meanwhile, the Houthis' attacks have caused global disruption, also delaying the delivery of critical aid to Sudan, Ethiopia and Yemen.

More than half of British exporters are suffering from disruption arising from the Houthis' attacks, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said February 26.

In a BCC survey of more than 1,000 companies, more than 55% of exporters stated that they have been impacted by Red Sea disruption, AFP reported.

Some 53% of manufacturers and business-to-consumer firms, like retailers, also have been affected, it added, noting that "the main impacts cited by businesses are increased costs and delays," the BCC said.

Some exporters revealed that costs had surged by 300% for container hire, while logistical delays have added up to four weeks to delivery times, it said.

Other respondents also cited knock-on effects including cashflow difficulties and component shortages.

"Our research suggests that the longer the current situation persists, the more likely it is that the cost pressures will start to build," said BCC trade policy head William Bain.