By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2024-11-19

ADEN -- After launching a series of attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea, the Houthis are now capitalizing on their crimes by demanding that shipping companies pay them for "safe passage," according to a new report.

The funds the Houthis generate via this scam enable them to fund their ongoing war on Yemen's legitimate government and continue carry out attacks on international ships in regional waters.

The Iran-backed group may be generating more revenue from "safe passage" fees -- an estimated $2 billion each year -- than it does from imposing taxes on oil imports, per the United Nations Security Council's panel of experts on Yemen.

Oil imports are one of the group's largest sources of income.

The Houthis are making large sums of money from maritime piracy, extorting international shipping agencies whose vessels pass through the Red Sea to the tune of around $180 million a month, the experts said in a November 1 report.

These "huge" sums contribute significantly to financing the Houthi "terrorist" activities, the report said, such as purchasing weapons and training fighters.

"The Houthis threaten international navigation and make a lot of money that goes to Houthi accounts outside the country," political analyst Mahmoud al-Taher told Al-Fassel.

Financing terrorism

Though the Iran-backed group has claimed its attacks target ships connected to Israel, this is not the case, with its indiscriminate attacks targeting the interests of at least 65 countries, according to The Iran Primer.

This includes vessels linked to its own allies, Russia and China.

"There are many ships belonging to international shipping companies that have no connection to Israel that make tribute payments to the Houthis in exchange for safe passage through the Red Sea," al-Taher said.

The millions of dollars in tributes enable the Houthis to finance their activities, purchase weapons from several countries, and conduct of more terrorist acts against international navigation, he added.

The estimated $180 million a month the Houthis reportedly collect from shipping companies is not "taxes" authorized by a legitimate government, but rather money demanded via "terrorist means," said economist Fares al-Najjar.

If the Houthis decide to stop their attacks on international shipping, "they will lose this income and what they see as a means of pressure," he told Al-Fassel.

"The confirmed truth is that the Houthis are just a tool of the Iranian regime and the decision-making is not theirs, but is rather according to what the regime and its interests in the region dictate to them," he said.