The United States Sanctions Five Iranians for Assisting the Houthi Missile Program in Yemen

On Tuesday, May 22, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it has added five Iranian citizens to its sanctions list for allegedly providing "training and technical assistance to the Houthis in Yemen," enabling them to launch ballistic missiles towards Saudi Arabia. The sanctioned individuals are: Mehdi Azarpisheh, Mohammad Agha Jafari, Mahmoud Bagheri Kazemabad, Javad Bordbar Shiramin, and Seyyed Mohammad Ali Haddadnejad Tehrani. The statement indicates that four of these individuals – Azarpisheh, Jafari, Kazemabad, and Shiramin – are assisting the Houthis through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), while the other – Tehrani – is involved in financing for the IRGC. The announced sanctions came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unveiled a "roadmap," stating that "the most severe sanctions against Iran will be imposed." Following its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the U.S. has stated it will reinstate suspended sanctions and implement additional ones. The Treasury's statement noted: "The actions of these individuals have empowered the Houthis to launch missiles at Saudi cities and its oil infrastructure. They have also obstructed humanitarian efforts to provide aid to the people of Yemen and jeopardized freedom of maritime navigation in international waterways." The statement further mentions that Mahmoud Bagheri Kazemabad and Mohammad Agha Jafari are agents of the IRGC Aerospace Force in the Al-Ghadir missile headquarters. It continues that Javad Bordbar Shiramin is an official in the IRGC Air Force and Mehdi Azarpisheh has been sanctioned for his activities in Iran's ballistic missile sector. The statement indicates that Seyyed Mohammad Ali Haddadnejad Tehrani is responsible for providing budgetary, logistical, and necessary items for the IRGC and Jihad Construction. Following their inclusion on the sanctions list, all their assets in the U.S. will be frozen, and any non-U.S. entity or individual that wishes to support or collaborate with them will face the risk of being added to the sanctions list. The U.S. Treasury states: "Today's action by the U.S. targeting Iran for its support of the Houthis follows efforts to target the Iranian regime for abusing the financial systems of Iraq and the UAE." The statement adds: "The Iranian regime has abused both of these financial systems and has supported proxy groups using the IRGC Quds Force. As Iran seeks to send equipment and supplies to the Houthis in Yemen, U.S. regional allies must be extremely vigilant." On May 14, the U.S. sanctioned an Iraqi bank named "Al-Bilad" for allegedly allowing the "Governor of the Central Bank of Iran to secretly spend millions of dollars to bolster and support the violent and extremist actions of Hezbollah (Lebanon) through the Islamic bank 'Al-Bilad' based in Iraq."