Nov. 14 (UPI) — The Biden administration sanctioned a Syrian conglomerate on Thursday, accusing it of using oil proceeds to fund Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force and Houthi militants, who have been attacking U.S. forces in the Middle East.
In total, 26 companies, people and vessels linked to the Al-Qatirji Company were blacklisted Thursday by the U.S. Treasury, which said the conglomerate generates hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s elite military unit and its proxy militia through the sale of Iranian oil to Syria and China.
Much of the funding is laundered through major cities, such as Istanbul and Beirut, with the Houthis in Yemen receiving millions of dollars a month from Al-Qatirji Company, it said.
According to Treasury officials, Iran has increased its reliance on companies such as the Al-Qatirji Company to fund its destabilizing activities. Since the conglomerate was previously blacklisted for facilitating the sale of fuel between Syria and the Islamic State, it has become a main channel of revenue for the IRGC-QF and its proxies.
“Treasury will continue to take all available measures to restrict the Iranian regime’s ability to profit from the illicit schemes that enable its dangerous regional agenda,” Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement.
The United States has repeatedly hammered Iran and the Houthis with sanctions as the Middle Eastern country and its militia have been threatening to expand the war between Israel and Hamas, another Iran-backed group, through their deepening involvement in the conflict.
Iran has directly attacked Israel amid the war, and the Houthis have established a military blockade of the Red Sea, attacking U.S. military and other vessels that transit the vital maritime channel. The Houthis and aligned militias have also attacked U.S. military personnel in the Middle East.
The Biden administration has described the sanctions as seeking to degrade the Houthis’ and the IRGC-QF’s ability to fund their destabilizing activities. U.S. blacklisted Houthi financier Sa’id al-Jamal has been a major target of the sanctions.
The Treasury on Thursday said that executives of the Al-Qatirji Company have met with al-Jamal, other financial supports and IRGC-QF senior officials.
Individuals sanctioned Thursday include Hussam Bin Ahmed Rushdi Al-Qatirji, the 42-year-old leader of the Al-Qatirji Company; Muhammad Agha Ahmed Rashdi Qatirji, 33, who works on the company’s oil portfolio; and 18-year-old Abbas Katerji, Muhammad Al-Qatirji’s son, who also works for the Al-Qatirji Company.
The rest of those sanctioned Thursday were shipping vessels and related companies.
