Merve Aydogan
16 January 2026•Update: 16 January 2026
HAMILTON, Canada
The US on Friday announced new sanctions targeting individuals, companies, and vessels accused of supporting Yemen's Houthi group through oil smuggling, weapons procurement, and illicit financing.
In a statement, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 21 individuals and entities, and identified a vessel for transferring oil products, procuring weapons, and providing financial services, to Ansarallah, the Iran-backed group commonly known as the Houthis.
With aims to cut alleged financial links between Iran and the Houthis, the latest sanctions seek to disrupt what US officials describe as a "vast revenue generation and smuggling networks" operating across Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in the statement that the Houthis "threaten the United States by committing acts of terror and attacking commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea. Treasury is taking action to cut off nearly two dozen individuals and entities involved in transferring oil, procuring weapons, and providing financial services for this Iran-backed terrorist organization."
"Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to expose the networks and individuals enabling Houthi terrorism," he said.
OFAC claimed that the Houthis generate more than $2 billion annually through oil sales, including shipments sold or provided by Iran using companies based in the UAE.
Several oil firms and financial facilitators in Dubai were named, along with Yemeni business figures accused of inflating fuel prices for civilians to fund Houthi military operations.
The sanctions also target weapons smuggling operations, including logistics companies accused of attempting to move anti-tank missiles and other military equipment into Yemen, as well as exchange houses allegedly used to finance arms purchases.
Furthermore, OFAC designated "two new airlines based in Sana'a, called Barash Aviation and Cargo Company Limited (Barash Aviation) and Sama Airlines," accused of attempting to acquire aircraft for smuggling and revenue purposes, and sanctioned ship owners and captains who allegedly delivered fuel to Houthi-controlled ports after US humanitarian exemptions expired.
In a separate statement, the State Department said the measures target "financial links between the Iranian regime and the Houthis, focusing on front companies and facilitators in Yemen, Oman, and the UAE that fund the Houthis’ destabilizing activities and attacks in the Red Sea."
"The United States will continue to use the tools at our disposal to eliminate the threats posed by Houthi terrorists," it said, arguing that the latest sanctions would deprive "Houthi terrorists of the resources they need to carry out their reckless and destabilizing actions."
