The United States will defend itself and its interests from attacks by Iran-backed Houthis, who have escalated their targeting of commercial shipping to show support for Hamas, after Hamas’ brutal October assault on Israel.
The Houthis have launched missiles and drones in dozens of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea region. In December, the United States organized a multinational maritime coalition to strengthen security for mariners and global shipping in the area’s critical waterways.
On December 31, in responding to an SOS [emergency distress] call, and after being fired on by Houthis trying to hijack a Maersk container vessel in the Red Sea, the United States military sank three boats, killing the Houthi crews on board. It was the first time there were fatalities among the Houthis from U.S. defensive actions taken in response to the militants’ attacks.
After the incident, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby said the United States does not seek a widening of the conflict, but he insisted the U.S. will act in self-defense “going forward.”
The Houthis could not do what they are doing without the support of Iran. To counter it, the United States also continues to take aim at the Houthis’ financial networks.
On December 28, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, designated one individual and three entities responsible for facilitating the flow of Iranian financial assistance to the Houthis. In a statement, the Treasury Department noted that among the designated were the head of the Currency Exchangers Association in Sana’a, Nabil Ali Ahmed Al-Hadha, and three exchange houses in Turkiye and Yemen – Al Aman, the Nabco Money Exchange and Remittance Company, and Al Rawda Exchange and Money Transfers Company. The Treasury Department said that those sanctioned “have facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars to the Houthis at the direction of U.S.-designated Sa’id al-Jamal, who is affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–Qods Force.”
Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson wrote that the U.S. action “underscores our resolve to restrict the illicit flow of funds to the Houthis ... The United States, along with our allies and partners,” he declared, “will continue to target the key facilitation networks that enable the destabilizing activities of the Houthis and their backers in Iran.”
