US hits 5 Iranians with sanctions for aiding Yemen rebels
The United States imposes sanctions on five Iranians it said had provided Yemen's Houthis with expertise and weaponry that were then used to launch missiles at cities and oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
The Trump administration is ratcheting up pressure on Iran with new sanctions targeting five Iranians for supporting Shiite rebels in Yemen.
The Treasury announced Tuesday that it was blacklisting the five for providing the Houthi rebels with technical expertise that has allowed them to launch missiles into neighboring Saudi Arabia. All five are members of or are affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed Monday that the US would step up efforts against Iran's support for groups like the Houthis, Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, the Palestinian Hamas movement and Syria's government following President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
"Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon, ever," Pompeo said. As he called for a better agreement to constrain Iran's activities, he said the US would "apply unprecedented financial pressure" to bring Tehran back to the table.
"These will end up being the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are complete," Pompeo said at the conservative Heritage Foundation, his first major policy speech since taking over as top diplomat.
The sanctions freeze any assets the five may have in US jurisdictions and prohibit Americans from any transactions with them.
Yemen’s government has been pitched against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement since 2015 in a war driving the country to the verge of famine.
