The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned members of a smuggling network on Thursday that U.S. officials claimed that the network helped Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Houthi militants allied with Iran in Yemen to provide funds.

Officials from the Ministry of Finance stated that the network was reportedly led by Sa’id al-Jamal, a Houthi financier based in Iran, through an intermediary organization and exchanges in multiple countries. A complex network directs the funds for the sale of Iranian oil to the Houthi in Yemen.

“The financial support of this network Arm the Houthis The tragic attacks threaten civilian and critical infrastructure in Yemen and Saudi Arabia,” said Andrea Gacki, director of the Foreign Assets Control Office of the Ministry of Finance, in a statement.

“These attacks undermined efforts to end the conflict and, most sadly, caused tens of millions of innocent civilians to starve to death,” Gaki said.

The war began in 2014 when Houthi militants drove the Saudi-backed government out of the capital Sana’a, making Yemen the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. According to the United Nations, more than 20 million people need assistance and 4 million people have been forced to leave their homes. Tens of thousands died.

U.S. President Joe Biden has Call to end Saudi Arabia and Iran have a proxy war in Yemen and instructed American officials to seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

“The United States is working hard to help resolve the conflict in Yemen and bring lasting humanitarian relief to the people of Yemen,” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken said in a statement on Friday.

“It is time for the Houthis to accept the ceasefire and resume political negotiations between the parties,” Brinken said.

In February of this year, the United States announced that it would end “all US support for offensive operations in the Yemen war, including related arms sales,” although Biden said he would continue to “help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty.”

Last week, a Houthi missile attack 17 people were killed in the besieged city of Malibu, Yemen, including a 5-year-old girl.

Fighters loyal to the Saudi-backed government in Yemen face Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Marib province in the northeast of the country [Photo by STR/AFP]

The US Treasury Department stated on its website that the new US sanctions are aimed at preventing al-Jamal and major business partners of Turkey, Greece and the UAE from entering the global financial system.

At the same time, Biden government officials lifted the sanctions on the three Iranian government officials and two companies that were previously involved in the trade of Iranian petroleum products.

Oil prices fell briefly on Thursday due to news, but a US official told Reuters that lifting the sanctions was “routine,” and a spokesperson for the US State Department said the move had nothing to do with the multilateral negotiations aimed at resuming the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. .

Iran and the world’s major powers are engaged in the sixth round of negotiations on how to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement. Set to restore In the coming weekend, just a few days before the Iranian presidential election on June 18, it is expected to bring New leader Take power in Tehran.

On Tuesday, Brinken stated that even if Iran re-complied with the nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA), “hundreds of sanctions will still exist.”

According to a Reuters report, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose to more than US$70 per barrel on Thursday, the highest level in more than two years due to optimism about strong US economic demand.

Among those identified as targets of the newly announced sanctions by the United States on Thursday was Abdi Nasir Ali Mahamud (Abdi Nasir Ali Mahamud), a supporter of the Houthi militants in Turkey and allegedly he Coordinating smuggling of petrochemical products for the network and related Aldoon General Trading company.

UAE shipping manager Manoj Sabharwal, Turkish accountant Hani Abd-al-Majid Muhammad As’ad, and Somali businessman Jami Ali Muhammad were also named due to sanctions.

Two Syrian men, Tlaib Ali Husayn Al-Ahmad al-Rawi of Turkey and Abdul Jalil Mallah of Greece, allegedly assisted in the transfer to the Yemeni exchange linked to the Houthis.