Smoke rises from Marlin Luanda, a tanker carrying Russian naphtha, after the vessel was struck by a Houthi anti-ship missile in the Gulf of Aden, in this handout picture released January 27, 2024. @indiannavy via X/Handout via REUTERS
New sanctions by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have revealed that Houthi leaders actively coordinated with Russian and Chinese officials to ensure their vessels would not be targeted during the group’s ongoing maritime attacks in the Red Sea.
According to Treasury documents, Mohamed Ali Al-Houthi, a prominent member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, explicitly guaranteed safe passage for Russian vessels while maintaining drone and missile attacks against other commercial shipping in the region. Al-Houthi has also been planning discussions with Russian officials regarding military aid to the Houthi group.
“Amid the Houthis’ ongoing maritime attack campaign, Mohamed Ali has communicated with officials from Russia and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to ensure that Houthi militants do not strike Russian or PRC vessels transiting the Red Sea,” OFAC stated in its announcement. “Speaking on behalf of the Houthis, Mohamed Ali has outlined the Houthis’ commitment to guarantee safe passage for Russian vessels.”
Since November 2023, the Iranian-backed Houthis have attacked more than 100 commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, claiming to target vessels linked to Israel and its allies in support of Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The indiscriminate attacks have prompted major shippings services to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, increasing costs and disrupting supply chains. Although the attacks have paused amid the current ceasefire, shipping services have still largely continued to reroute services.
OFAC’s actions confirm earlier reporting that the Yemen-based Houthis made agreements with China and Russia allowing their ships to sail through the region without being attacked. However, these assurances have not entirely prevented attacks on ships linked to either nation—or at least those carrying their commodities.
The new revelations from OFAC came as part of broader set of sanctions announced on Wednesday against seven high-ranking Houthi members, including who have been involved in weapons procurement and maritime operations.
“Houthi leaders have shown their intent to continue their reckless and destabilizing actions in the Red Sea region,” stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “The United States will use all available tools to disrupt the Houthis’ terrorist activities and degrade their ability to threaten U.S. personnel, our regional partners, and global maritime trade.”
The sanctions expose a complex network of Houthi-Russian cooperation, including multiple diplomatic missions to Moscow. Mohammad Abdulsalam, the Houthis’ Oman-based spokesman, has been instrumental in coordinating weapons procurement from Russia, including arranging meetings with Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs personnel.
In a particularly concerning development, the Treasury also uncovered a human trafficking operation where Houthi-affiliated individuals recruited Yemeni civilians under false pretenses to fight for Russia in Ukraine. This scheme, operated through Al-Jabri General Trading and Investment Co, has generated additional revenue for Houthi militant operations.
The sanctions follow multiple OFAC actions throughout 2024 targeting Houthi weapons procurement networks. Yesterday, the Department of State announced the re-designation of Ansarallah, the official name for the Houthis, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The re-designation comes after the previous Biden Administration removed the Houthis from the FTO list in February 2021 due to humanitarian concerns in Yemen, only to again designate them as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) in early 2024 in response to escalating maritime attacks.
Under these new sanctions, all U.S.-based assets of the designated individuals are blocked, and U.S. persons are prohibited from conducting transactions with them. Additionally, foreign financial institutions risk secondary sanctions for engaging with these designated persons.
OFAC’s confirmation of selective targeting of vessels based on nationality represents a significant development in the ongoing Red Sea crisis, highlighting the deepening ties between the Houthis and both Russian and Chinese interests in the region.
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