U.S. Sanctions Signal Potential Terror Designation For Houthis

New Designations Deal A Blow To Regime’s Terrorism-Related Activities

(New York, N.Y.) – Yesterday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed terrorism-related sanctions on Iran’s ambassador to Yemen Hassan Eyrlou, Al-Mustafa International University, and other entities. Eyrlou was sanctioned for acting for or on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force (IRGC-QF), while Al-Mustafa was sanctioned for its role in facilitating IRGC-QF recruitment efforts. 

The terrorism sanctions on Eyrlou could signal that the U.S. may designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) or levy terrorism sanctions on the group under Executive Order 13224, as the U.S. Department of State launched a terrorism and intelligence review into the Houthis in September.

In a recent blog post, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) Policy Director Jason Brodsky outlines the background of newly sanctioned Iranian Ambassador to Yemen, Hassan Eyrlou. Brodsky analyzes his close ties to the Iranian regime’s proxy militias, such as the Houthis in Yemen, and his suspected role as an IRGC officer. UANI’s resource, Iran’s Proxy Wars, also examines Iran’s malign influence in Yemen and Tehran’s financial and militaristic support of the Houthis. 

In its report, Iran’s Ideological Expansion, UANI analyzes the rise of Al-Mustafa International University as a key component of the regime’s soft power industrial complex. The resource explains that the university, founded in 2007, serves as a recruiting ground for the IRGC-QF and has developed an army tens of thousands strong to serve as Shi’a missionaries in various countries that spread Khomeinist and anti-Western ideology. 

To read UANI’s blog post, The IRGC’s Growing Role In Iran’s Government, please click here. 

To read UANI’s report, Iran’s Ideological Expansion, please click here. 

To read UANI’s resource, Iran’s Proxy Wars, please click here.

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