[16/01/2026 06:23]

WASHINGTON – SABA
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced today the designation of 21 individuals and entities, as well as the identification of one vessel, on the sanctions list for their involvement in transporting petroleum products, purchasing weapons and equipment and providing financial services to the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist militias.

The sanctions include shipping companies and ship captains, oil and financial exchange companies that continued delivering petroleum products to Houthi-controlled ports after the expiration of humanitarian licenses, in violation of restrictions on dealing with a designated terrorist organization.

They also target oil and financial exchange companies, along with weapons-smuggling networks, including attempts to smuggle anti-armor missiles, as well as aviation companies that sought to purchase aircraft for use in smuggling operations and revenue generation.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “The Houthis threaten the United States by committing terrorist acts and attacking commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea."

The Treasury Department is taking action to sever the links of approximately twenty individuals and entities involved in transporting oil, purchasing weapons, and providing financial services to this Iran-backed terrorist organization, he added.

He added that the Houthis pay Iran-linked companies by transferring funds to exchanges in the United Arab Emirates, including Al-Jannat Al-Anhar General Trading LLC, through money exchange companies in Sana’a, Yemen.

He noted that Houthi leaders impose exorbitant prices on ordinary Yemenis for oil and its derivatives, and seize the revenues from these sales for personal gain and to finance their military operations.

He pointed out that the Houthis continue to generate massive revenues from illicit oil sales exceeding two billion dollars annually, noting that as part of Houthi oil sales operations, the Iranian government sells oil and provides a free monthly shipment to the Houthis through Iranian or Iran-affiliated companies based in Dubai.

The Treasury also stated that Houthi agents deliberately rely on a wide network of shell companies, logistics service providers, and shipping intermediaries to transport weapons and other military equipment to Yemen. Among these companies is Wadi Kabir Logistics Services (Wadi Kabir), a shipping brokerage company based in Sana’a with a branch in the Sultanate of Oman.

Under the sanctions, all assets within U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and all transactions with the designated individuals and entities are prohibited, with warnings of civil and criminal penalties for any parties that violate these restrictions.

The U.S. Department of State designated the Houthi militias as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) organization pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended, effective February 16, 2024, and subsequently also designated them as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) pursuant to Section 2019 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

---