The U.S. Treasury announced fresh OFAC sanctions targeting Iran-backed Houthi networks, designating 21 individuals and entities and one vessel. The measures focus on oil, weapons and other dual-use transfers that the department says helped finance the group. Officials say the actions build on prior steps to choke off Houthi revenue and smuggling networks amid repeated Red Sea attacks since 2023.
U.S. Treasury Imposes Fresh Sanctions on Houthi Funding Networks, Targeting Oil, Arms and Smuggling Routes
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looks on at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz/File Photo
WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) — The U.S. Treasury on Jan. 16 announced a new round of sanctions aimed at disrupting the financial and smuggling networks that sustain Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 21 individuals and entities and one vessel, including companies the department says may be front firms operating in Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
"The Houthis threaten the United States by committing acts of terror and attacking commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea," the Treasury said in a statement.
The measures target transfers of oil products, weapons and other dual-use equipment that U.S. officials say have helped finance Houthi operations. Treasury officials said the sanctions build on earlier actions intended to choke off the group’s "vast revenue generation and smuggling networks," which they say enable the Houthis to sustain destabilizing activities, including repeated attacks in the Red Sea.
Since 2023 the Houthis have launched multiple assaults on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which they say are linked to Israel, describing the strikes as expressions of solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel's war in Gaza. The department also noted that regional dynamics — including Israeli strikes on Iranian-linked proxies — have affected Tehran's influence over allied groups in the region.
Treasury officials said the latest designations are intended to disrupt funding and supply chains used to procure fuel, weapons and other materials that support Houthi operations and maritime attacks.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama.)
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