Treasury targets Houthi oil revenue, building on US sanctions against the group

In late June, the US Treasury Department levied its largest batch of sanctions against the Houthis, targeting individuals and entities involved in the importation and smuggling of oil and other goods.

“Today’s action—our most significant to date against the group—underscores our commitment to disrupting the Houthis’ financial and shipping pipelines that enable their reckless behavior in the Red Sea and the surrounding region,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender said while announcing the sanctions on June 20. The designation includes 12 companies, three businessmen, the Hodeidah and Al Salif port manager, and vessels connected to the sanctioned companies.

This action is part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to target Houthi financing, which began by re-designating the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on March 4. The FTO designation criminalizes the provision of support of any kind to the terrorist group.

The Treasury Department has since sanctioned Houthi leaders, weapons smugglers, financiers, and vessels delivering prohibited commodities to the Houthis. The Trump administration also ended the General License that allowed the continued sale of refined petroleum products to companies in northern Yemen despite sanctions against the Houthis. The prohibition on selling these products went into effect on April 4, 2025.

According to June’s Treasury statement, “The Houthis use a web of trusted companies headquartered in Sana’a and Hudaydah, Yemen to facilitate the sale of oil across Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, many of which are directly linked to high-ranking Houthi operatives. Houthi leaders charge Yemenis exorbitant prices for oil and oil derivatives, pocketing the proceeds from these sales for personal gain and to fund the group’s militant operations.”

The Houthis collected approximately $4 billion from customs duties on fuel imports from 2022 to 2024, according to the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen. However, the report continued, “Considering other illegal fees and the margin of profit on that, the Houthis’ total income from this sector alone is estimated at 1.34 trillion Yemeni rials during the aforesaid period.” This total is equivalent to approximately $5.5 billion.

In addition to smuggling oil for the Houthis’ profit, multiple companies imported sanctioned Iranian oil. The Treasury Department identified two companies, Royal Plus and Al Usaili Co, as having ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Royal Plus not only engaged in oil smuggling and sale for the Houthis, but it also facilitated payments for weapons between the Houthis, Russia, and Iran.

Black Diamond, a Sanaa-based company, is a key oil smuggler in the Houthis’ revenue-generating scheme. Black Diamond has the capacity to import substantial amounts of oil, which the Houthis have highlighted in discussions with Russian government representatives about potential oil deals.

Another company, Star Plus, smuggled dual-use weapons components from Asia for the Yemeni terrorist group, in addition to importing oil.

Multiple companies listed by Treasury, including Black Diamond and Star Plus, are managed by Mohammad Abdulsalam, a key Houthi leader and spokesman based in Oman. Abdulsalam was listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States in early March. In that designation, the Treasury Department said that he “played a key role in managing the Houthis’ internal and external financing network.”

The designation also identified three Houthi-connected businessmen whose companies engage in oil and oil derivative smuggling and sales to generate revenue for the terrorist group. The Treasury also designated vessels that have transported petroleum products despite the updated General License that bans the sale of petroleum products to the Houthis and Houthi-connected entities.

The final individual sanctioned in Treasury’s latest action is Zaid al Washli, “the head of the Houthi-aligned port management company, which controls operations at key Houthi-controlled ports, including Hudaydah and Al-Salif.” Treasury said Washli uses his position to enable Houthi weapons procurement and smuggling.

Up to 80 percent of Yemen’s imports enter through Hodeida and Al Salif ports, generating substantial revenue for the terrorist group. The Treasury Department previously said, “The Houthis control the strategic Red Sea ports of Hudaydah, Ras Isa, and Al-Salif, funneling millions of dollars derived from port revenue and the seizure of refined petroleum products imported through these ports.” Both the Hodeidah and Al Salif ports have been targeted by American and Israeli airstrikes.

Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focusing on Iranian proxies, specifically Iraqi militias and the Houthis.