US Sanctions Against Qazalhesar Prison, Phantom Fleet, and Houthi Financial Network

The US Treasury and State Departments imposed new sanctions on 10 entities and vessels, a financial network for the Houthis, and the Qazalhesar prison in Karaj. These two departments announced on Thursday evening, December 29, that they have sanctioned Qazalhesar prison. The US State Department's statement referred to Qazalhesar prison as a site of gross human rights violations and a place of 'cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and punishment against individuals seeking to exercise their right to freedom of expression.' Previously, prisons such as Evin in Tehran, Qarchak in Varamin, Fashafouyeh in Hassanabad, Rajai Shahr in Karaj, and Adelabad in Shiraz had already been subjected to US sanctions. The US State Department also announced sanctions against four entities and the issuance of orders to seize six vessels for their involvement in Iranian oil smuggling. The four sanctioned entities and companies are based in China, India, Seychelles, and Suriname. According to the US State Department's statement, the billions of dollars from Iranian oil smuggling are used to fund the nuclear program, develop ballistic missiles, and finance the Houthis and other Iranian proxy groups. In the Treasury Department's sanctions list, in addition to these cases, other individuals, companies, and vessels related to the financial network supporting the Iran-backed Houthis are also mentioned. The sanctions include the names of 12 individuals and entities and six vessels involved in the network transferring Iranian oil and allocating its revenues to finance and arm the Houthis. Bradley Smith, the Acting Deputy Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Intelligence and Terrorism, emphasized Washington's commitment to targeting Iran's main revenue sources that fund its destabilizing activities, stating that Iran relies on a 'secret network of vessels, companies, and facilitators' for these activities. The sanctions block all property and interests belonging to the designated individuals and entities in the United States, and US persons and entities that engage in transactions with them may face sanctions or enforcement actions, including financial penalties. The sanctioned individuals include Wael Abdulwadoud, Ahmad Alhadi, Hashem Almadani, Omar Ahmad (all from Yemen), Vakhtang Gumeri and Mirza Kazhvadzadeh (both from Georgia), and Azkial Kaniapan and Puvanswaran Venaigamurti (both from Malaysia). The sanctioned entities and companies include Alhazmi Exchange, Safwan Al-Dubai Shipping, and Mohammed Al-Thour Exchange (all in Yemen), Atlantic Navigation and Blue Shipping (both in India), Mercury Port Energy Services and Tefex Shipping (both in Malaysia), Galaxy Management, Journey Investment, and Pasada Shipping (all in the Marshall Islands), Berkalin and Master Joint (both in Hong Kong), Rose Shipping in Liberia, and Shiny Seals Shipping in Seychelles. The sanctioned vessels include the oil tankers Oital, Eliza, Anjia, Enola, Melinia, Progress V, Scorpius, Taska, and Vigor.