The Biden Administration announced new sanctions on two Houthi military officials, the U.S. Treasury Department said, taking action over the Iran-aligned movement’s offensive to seize Yemen’s gas-rich Marib region and lack of real commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the end of the war there.
According to Reuters, U.S. Special Envoy on Yemen Tim Lenderking earlier on Thursday “urged the group battling a Saudi-led coalition for over six years to de-escalate and engage seriously with U.S. and U.N. efforts for a ceasefire needed to end the war, a top foreign policy priority for the Biden administration.”
U.S. Special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking in Riyadh in March 2021.
Lenderking said the United States would impose sanctions on the head of the general staff leading the Houthi’s Marib offensive, Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari, and on a leader of Houthi forces assigned to the advance, Yusuf al-Madani. The Treasury in a statement announcing the sanctions accused al-Ghamari of prolonging the war and orchestrating attacks that have harmed civilians. The U.S. State Department also blacklisted al-Madani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), Reuters reports.
Lenderking emphasized that the Houthis’ efforts to seize Marib were counterproductive to peace, and stated bluntly that the Houthis were “not winning.”
“The Houthis are not winning in Marib. Instead they are putting a great deal of stress on an already very fragile humanitarian situation, they are putting the lives of 1 million internally displaced people … in danger,” Lenderking said, per the Reuters report.
Lenderking also urged Saudi Arabia to ease restrictions on goods flowing into Yemen in order to relieve the humanitarian situation brought on by the Iran-backed Houthi war on the U.N.-recognized government in the country. His comments echo that of a group of Democratic senators, who are calling on President Biden to take “immediate and decisive action” to end Saudi Arabia’s “blockade tactics” in Yemen, CNN reports.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Wednesday in an interview with Al Arabiya that the Kingdom’s peace initiative to end the war in Yemen was currently stalled because of the Iran-backed Houthis.
“There is no stability without addressing the concerns of the countries in the region about Iran’s behavior, the issue of Iran’s ballistic missiles and interventions must be addressed; the ball is now in the Houthis’ court,” he said.
