On March 2, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated two key members of Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis, for planning and facilitating military-style attacks that have impacted Yemeni civilians, bordering nations, and commercial vessels in international waters. The Iranian regime has fueled Yemen’s civil war and humanitarian crisis by providing financial assistance and small arms, missiles, and explosives to the Houthis as part of a destabilizing agenda, that is responsible for displacing over a million Yemini people who have been pushed to the brink of famine.
OFAC designated Mansur Al-Sa’adi, the Houthi Naval Forces Chief of Staff, and Ahmad ‘Ali Ahsan Al-Hamzi, the commander of Yemen’s Houthi-aligned Air Force and Air Defense Forces pursuant to Executive Order 13611, targeting those who threaten the peace, security, or stability of Yemen. Al-Sa’adi, who is responsible for the Houthi Naval Forces’ repeated use of naval mines that endanger commercial, fishing and humanitarian aid vessels in the Red Sea, has been designated for his direct or indirect participation in acts that threaten the peace, security and stability of Yemen. Al-Hamzi, who acquired Iranian-made weapons for use in Yemen’s civil war, has been designated for being a military leader of an entity that has participated in acts that threaten the peace, security and stability of Yemen.
On February 16, 2021, the US Department of State revoked the terrorism-related designation for Ansarallah. As a result of the revocation, the group is no longer subject to sanctions, and transactions with the organization are no longer prohibited for US persons.
As a result of the new OFAC designations, US property belonging to Al-Sa’adi and Al-Hamzi is blocked, and transactions and dealings with these individuals are generally prohibited. In addition, any entity in the US that is owned fifty percent or more by a sanctioned individual is also blocked.
Department of Treasury Press Release | Department of State Press Statement