On June 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions targeting Ansarallah, an Iran-based organization commonly known as the Houthis. OFAC sanctioned a total of four individuals, twelve entities, and two vessels that allegedly supported the import of oil and other illicit goods for the Houthis. According to Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender, this is the most significant action that the U.S. Treasury has taken against the group to date. The new designations target individuals and entities, including Houthi front companies and their owners, that generate significant revenue for the group through the sale of black market commodities and smuggling operations that utilize Houthi-controlled ports. Among the designees is Zaid Al-Washli, the head of the Houthi-aligned port management company that controls the operations at key Houthi-controlled ports in Iran. Two vessels – the Atlantis MZ and the Sarah (formerly known as Tulip BZ) – and their owners and operators were also sanctioned by OFAC for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions by discharging oil derivatives to the Houthis.
All of the new designations were imposed pursuant to EO 13224, as amended, which targets terrorist groups and their supporters. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of the designated person within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving a designated person. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.