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On June 17, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two individuals and five entities that have facilitated weapons procurement for Yemen's Ansar Allah Movement, a.k.a. the Houthis, including the transfer into Yemen of cruise missile components, manufacturing equipment, and materials that enabled Houthi forces to manufacture advanced conventional weapons, which are currently being used to conduct terrorist attacks against commercial ships.
"The United States remains resolved to use the full range of our tools to halt the flow of military-grade materials and funds from commodities sales that enable these destabilizing terrorist activities," said the press release in part. [1]
The OFAC sanctions come in response to Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which are being carried out in support of Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.
America's Goal "Is To Turn Attention Away From The Real Terrorism Practiced By Israel In Gaza With American Support"
On the next day, June 18, the Houthis Political Bureau released a statement saying that the group's military operations are "ethical" and aim to protect human rights and freedom. It declared that the military operations in regional waters "will not stop unless the aggression is stopped and the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted."
According to the movement, the U.S. goal behind describing our operations as terrorism is "to turn attention away from the real terrorism practiced by Israel in Gaza with American support," adding: "Yemen will carry on with its struggle to end the policy of double standards in human rights issues, pursued by America and its allies based on their interests.
The Houthis Political Bureau also commended the ongoing "peaceful student movements in American and Western universities demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza."[2]
Houthi Spokesman: U.S. Aid To Israel Is The "True Terrorism" That Endangers The World
Houthi spokesman Muhammad Abdulsalam posted commentary on his Telegram channel and account on X (formerly Twitter) saying: "The aid America provides to Israel, which is carrying out the crimes of the century in Gaza, is the true terrorism that endangers the world and seriously threatens global peace. [We are] assisting the victim in the face of the American-Israeli hangman."
Abdulsalam also called on the world to break its "silence" and to "speak out against the U.S. in order to stop its murderous and barbaric terrorism," and argued that this terrorism "will not be able to defeat the free nations and peoples, which are ready for conflict and adhere to the aspiration of liberty and independence."[3]
On January 17, 2024, the U.S. Department of State announced the designation of Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthis), as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group, effective 30 days from the announcement date.[4]
[1] Home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2409, June 17, 2024.
[2] Telegram, June 18, 2024.
[3] Telegram, June 17, 2024.
[4] State.gov/terrorist-designation-of-the-houthis/, January 17, 2024.
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