Barran Press
The United States on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, imposed new sanctions on 50 entities and individuals accused of transferring billions of dollars to the Iranian military and Tehran's proxies in the region, including the Houthi rebels.
The US Treasury Department, in a statement, said the targeted entities constitute a "shadow banking network" used by the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both subject to US sanctions.
The Treasury Department claimed that the network has facilitated MODAFL and IRGC access to the international financial system and conducted transactions worth billions of dollars since 2020.
It added that the Iranian Ministry of Defense and IRGC have used a network of Iranian exchange houses and other foreign companies operating as fronts to generate revenue.
The Treasury Department accused these networks of assisting in "funding and arming Iranian proxies, including the Houthi group in Yemen, as well as transferring drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine."
The new sanctions target dozens of companies in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and the Marshall Islands, as well as companies based in Iran and Turkey.
The sanctions freeze any assets belonging to the sanctioned individuals and entities in the US and generally prohibit Americans from dealing with them. Anyone engaging in specific transactions with them could also be subject to sanctions.
On Wednesday, June 19, 2024, the US threatened further sanctions against the Houthi group, internationally designated as a terrorist organization, to weaken its capabilities.
John Kirby, the National Security Council's coordinator for strategic communications, said during a White House press briefing that the Treasury Department would announce new sanctions listings for individuals and entities involved in a network supplying weapons to the Houthis, according to the US Department of State website.