The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced additional sanctions against multiple entities and individuals involved in shipping Iranian commodities to Yemen and the UAE, under the direction of Iran-based Houthi financier Sa’id al-Jamal.
The sanctions aim to disrupt funding sources for the Yemen-based Houthis and Iran’s IRGC-QF, both designated terrorist organisations.
The sanctions target al-Jamal’s network, which generates revenue supporting Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and civilian infrastructure. OFAC has updated the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) for the vessel ARTURA, now renamed OHAR, which transported commodities for al-Jamal.
“Today’s action demonstrates our commitment to disrupting Iran’s primary source of funding to its regional terrorist proxies,” stated Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley T. Smith.
OFAC has designated several entities and individuals, including Hong Kong-based Kai Heng Long Global Energy Limited for shipping Iranian LPG worth tens of millions of dollars for Lebanese Hizballah; four vessels owned and managed by Kai Heng Long Global Energy Limited as blocked property; UAE-based ONX Trading FZE for facilitating illicit payments; Palau-flagged LPG tankers LPG OM and RAHA GAS for making multiple shipments for al-Jamal and UAE-based DP Shipping Limited, Arafat Shipping Company, Transmarine Navigation (M) SDN. BHD, and KFD General Trading LLC for their roles in facilitating Iranian commodity transportation.
The designations reflect ongoing efforts to curb financial networks supporting regional terrorism, particularly in light of the Houthis’ recent attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
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