“President Biden made it an immediate priority to unwind pressure on Iran and its proxies, including by lifting terrorism sanctions on the Houthis and their leaders – a reckless, self-indulgent, and catastrophic move."
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – On February 5th 2021, the Biden State Dept. announced it would lift terrorism-related sanctions on Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis network. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last week introduced a bill to re-impose terrorism sanctions on the Iran-controlled Houthis in the aftermath of months of terrorism escalation.
The Houthis network works with Iran's Quds Force, the elite arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to generate "tens of millions of dollars in revenue from the sale of commodities, like Iranian petroleum," a U.S. Treasury statement said.
A "significant portion" of the funds are "directed through a complex network of intermediaries and exchange houses in multiple countries to the Houthis in Yemen," it continued.
Funds also underwrite "destabilizing regional activities" of the Quds Force and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, it said.
Following Biden's removal of the terrorist designation, the Houthis immediately escalated terrorist activities and have consistently interfered with the transfer of humanitarian assistance.
A "significant portion" of the funds are "directed through a complex network of intermediaries and exchange houses in multiple countries to the Houthis in Yemen," it continued.
Funds also underwrite "destabilizing regional activities" of the Quds Force and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, it said.Following Biden's removal of the terrorist designation, the Houthis immediately escalated terrorist activities and have consistently interfered with the transfer of humanitarian assistance.
On Feb. 6th, 2021, they launched attacks and began an offensive against Marib, and on Feb 7th they launched four armed drones into Saudi Arabia.
Senator Cruz previously has pushed to reimpose those sanctions, and in November filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) mandating the reimposition.
Biden's lifting of the terrorism-related sanctions on the Houthis includes three of their leaders: Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim.
Sen. Cruz’s bill would reverse Biden's February decision, re-designating the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and the group and their leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
The bill is backed by co-sponsors Senators:
- Tom Cotton (R-AR)
- Ben Sasse (R-NE)
- Roger Marshall (R-KS)
- Thom Tillis (R-NC)
- Bill Hagerty (R-TN)
- Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
- John Barrasso (R-WY), and
- Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Upon introducing the bill, Sen. Cruz stated:
“President Biden made it an immediate priority to unwind pressure on Iran and its proxies, including by lifting terrorism sanctions on the Houthis and their leaders – a reckless, self-indulgent, and catastrophic move.
"This appeasement predictably caused Iran to escalate its aggression across the region, and in Yemen the Houthis launched a broad offensive within hours of the Biden administration’s announcement they would lift those sanctions.
"I’ve consistently sought to reimpose those sanctions, and it’s now clear that if the Biden administration is unwilling to do so, then Congress should mandate that they do,” said Cruz.
