US, UK impose new sanctions on Iran, Houthi rebels

The United States and Britain on Tuesday sanctioned a deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a Houthi militant, linking them to missile attacks targeting Red Sea shipping from Yemen.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have targeted shipping in the Red Sea region for months, rarely attacking ships but forcing shippers of threatened cargo to abandon the shortest route from Asia to Europe through the Suez Canal and instead take more frequent routes around the tip of the Red Sea. long route. Africa.

U.S. and British air strikes on Houthi missile sites failed to stop the attack.

U.S. Treasury Department official Brian Nelson said the sanctions underscored “our determination” to block funding for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Quds Force and the Houthis.

“As the Houthis continue to threaten the security of peaceful international commerce, the United States and the United Kingdom will continue to disrupt the financial flows that fund these destabilizing activities,” Nelson said.

The sanctions specifically target Mohammad Reza Farahzad, the current deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, and Houthi militant Ibrahim Nashiri.

The U.S. Treasury Department noted that the Quds Force and the Houthis “sell Iranian goods to foreign buyers to generate revenue” to fund Houthi operations.

The U.S. Treasury Department also announced sanctions against the owner and operator of Hong Kong-based Cap Tees Shipping Company of ships used to transport Iranian goods in support of the Houthis and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.

The sanctions would block any assets held by blacklisted entities in the United States and any future transactions with Americans.