US Imposes Sanctions on Companies Financing Yemen’s Houthi Rebels

The civil war in Yemen has caused widespread destruction. 

The US imposed new sanctions on a network of individuals and companies working with Iran’s army to support Yemen’s Houthi rebels on February 23. Financier Sa’id al-Jamal has worked with prominent businessmen around the world and front shipping countries to help Houthi rebels gain access to both millions of dollars and commodities like petroleum gas. Such funding is crucial in attacks against neighboring countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two US allies. 

Since Yemen’s Civil War in the 1990s, there has been fighting between various governments in power and the Houthi rebels, who also seek control over the country. In 2015, Yemen President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi was removed from power by Houthi rebels. In response, Saudi Arabia created a coalition of Arab countries whose goal was to restore President Hadi to power. This conflict in Yemen soon developed into a new civil war between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebels. The US decided to support the Saudi-led coalition by providing weapons to them. However, all parties involved in this conflict have faced extensive backlash from the global public because the civil war created a major humanitarian crisis. Millions of civilians in the country, including children, have died, been injured, or have otherwise been harmed due to limited access to food, healthcare, and education as a result of this conflict.

Attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent weeks created concern for the Biden Administration because the US relies on these nations for resources like petroleum gas. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has already led to rising prices and shortages of gas, so there is worry that the war in Yemen will exacerbate these trends. There is also a humanitarian concern for continued attacks on civilians by Houthi rebels. Thus, the Biden Administration held talks with representatives from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, ultimately deciding to impose sanctions on organizations financing the Houthi rebels with the aim of preventing gas prices and shortages from rising higher. The sanctions specifically prevent buyers in the US from engaging in any sort of financial transactions with these parties.