(CN) — The same day the first casualties occurred from Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, the U.S. sanctioned two companies and two vessels that support an Iran-based Houthi financier.
Wednesday's sanctions target two Hong Kong and Marshall Islands-based ship owners and two vessels for shipping commodities on behalf of Sa'id al-Jamal.
“The United States remains resolved to hold accountable those who enable these destabilizing activities,” said Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.
The sanctioned vessels and companies play a role in shipping commodities, with revenue from the sales supporting the Houthis through al-Jamal, the Treasury Department said.
“The consequences of these attacks are felt far beyond the region, and the United States will continue to use all available measures to disrupt the funding streams that enable these destabilizing activities,” State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said.
Two people were killed and six wounded in an attack on the Liberian-owned, Barbados-flagged ship True Confidence on Wednesday. The vessel caught fire about 50 miles off the coast of Yemen, forcing the crew to abandon it.
The Houthis have been targeting shipping in the crucial route through the Red Sea, which borders Yemen, since Oct. 19. The attacks are widely seen as one of the spillovers from Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Houthis are a Shia Islamist movement that support the establishment of a Palestinian state and have condemned Israel’s policies toward the occupied territories.
The U.S. and the United Kingdom, assisted by other Western countries, have tried to pressure the Houthis to stop their attacks. The countries have conducted airstrikes seeking to disable the group’s ability to launch strikes. But despite the airstrikes, designating the Houthis a global terrorist group and rolling out several sanctions, the attacks have not stopped.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the casualties are a predictable outcome from the Houthis’ continued “reckless attacks against international commercial shipping.” She declined to preview any potential military response.
“The U.S. is going to continue to take action. We have been able to degrade their capabilities,” she said. “This is not just our problem, obviously. It’s an international one.”
Follow @TheNolanStout
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
