By Pishtaz | 2024-08-06

With a new round of sanctions, the United States continues to take aim at individuals and companies that have helped to procure weapons for the Houthis and assisted with the Iranian regime's ballistic missile and drone programs.

The sanctions, rolled out July 30 and July 31, target procurement operators and facilitators in Iran, Yemen, China and Hong Kong.

Two people and four firms were designated July 31 for facilitating the procurement of weapons on behalf of the Iranian regime-backed Houthis.

The sanctions targeted "procurement operatives, shipment facilitators and suppliers" based in Yemen and China who sourced dual-use equipment for use in the Houthis' advanced weapons systems, the US Treasury said.

The blacklisted individuals and companies had "directly supported" the Houthis' efforts to procure "military-grade materials abroad," which were then shipped to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, enabling the group's ongoing attacks.

The Houthis have sought to exploit "key jurisdictions" such as China and Hong Kong "in order to source and transport the components necessary for their deadly weapons systems," US Treasury official Brian Nelson said.

Those sanctioned include Sanaa-based company Al-Shahari United Corporation, which relied on a branch office in the Chinese city of Guangzhou to facilitate shipments to Yemen, AFP reported.

The US Treasury also sanctioned Yemeni businessman Maher Yahya Muhammad Mutahar al-Kinai, who it said had coordinated with other Houthi operatives to "facilitate shipments of dual-use equipment and components."

Chinese, Iranian firms aided regime's drone program

Five individuals and seven companies in China, Hong Kong and Iran were also blacklisted July 30. The United States accuses them of aiding the Iranian regime's ballistic missile and drone programs.

The sanctions targeted individuals and companies involved in procuring key components for "subordinates" of Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), the US Treasury said.

MODAFL is involved in supporting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Russia's war in Ukraine.

Nelson said the action "exposes additional key front companies and trusted agents through which Iran has sought to acquire these components."

The United States "will continue to impose costs on those that facilitate Iran's ability to produce these deadly weapons," he warned.

The sanctioned individuals and firms were involved in procuring accelerometers and gyroscopes used for guidance, navigation and control systems by MODAFL's ballistic missile and drone programs, per the Treasury.

They include China-based front company Beijing Shiny Nights Technology Development Company, and Iran-based Electro Optic Sairan Industries.

The sanctions are the latest in a raft of designations from the Treasury and the State Department aimed at punishing actors who have contributed to Iran's ballistic missile and drone programs.