On Thursday, the US Treasury Department announced additional sanctions against trade networks associated with the Houthi and Hezbollah groups, aiming to intensify pressure on Tehran and these Iranian-supported organizations.
The sanctions targeted entities and individuals involved in transporting Iranian oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Yemen and the UAE, linked to a financial network operated by a Houthi official.
The revenues generated by this network are said to support the Houthis’ aggressive actions against maritime and civilian targets in the Red Sea.
This activity has notably disrupted crucial international shipping lanes, leading to increased shipping costs and port congestion in Asia and Europe.
The sanctions also hit Hezbollah’s LPG transportation efforts, including a Hong Kong-based ship management and operations company along with various tankers.
The US Treasury highlighted that the Talaqi Group, controlled by Hezbollah, used these tankers to move LPG from Iran to China worth tens of millions of dollars.
Bradley Smith, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Treasury, emphasized the US’s commitment to disrupting the financial streams that support regional terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and the Houthis.
The sanctions include freezing any US assets of the implicated parties and prohibiting American entities from engaging with them.
Earlier this week,
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched approximately 25 rockets from Lebanon towards the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel.
According to the “Times of Israel,” air raid sirens were activated in the Mount Meron area, including the towns of Harfish, Alcosh, Fassuta, and Beit Jann.
Meanwhile, “Yedioth Ahronoth” reported that the IDF also activated sirens in the settlement of Holit, near Gaza, after rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip.
The situation between Hezbollah and Israel has been escalating rapidly in recent weeks. The recent rocket attacks by Hezbollah are part of a broader pattern of increased aggression from the group, with several cross-border incidents occurring in the past month.
