The United States announced Tuesday, December 8 sanctions against Hassan Irlou, presented as an emissary of Iran to the Houthi rebels and accused as such of contributing to perpetuate the war in Yemen.
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Hassan Irlou, who presents himself on his Twitter account as Iran's ambassador to Yemen, is "
an official of the Quds Force
", the branch responsible for external operations of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, a the US Treasury said in a statement.
He is also "
the Iranian regime's emissary to the Houthi rebels
" in the country at war, he added.
"
Iranian support for the Houthis, of which the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force is the spearhead, continues to foster instability in Yemen, the scene of the world's most serious humanitarian crisis
," he said.
The Yemeni government is supported by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the appointment of a Quds Force official to represent Tehran "
demonstrates the Iranian regime's unwillingness to resolve the conflict
".
Washington also sanctioned al-Moustapha International University, an Iranian establishment "
with more than 50 international branches which provide a platform for the operations of the Quds Force
", as well as Youssef Ali Mouraj, accused of participating in the recruitment of the unit of elite in the Middle East and the United States.
“
The Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force is the Iranian regime's primary tool in wreaking havoc and destruction across the Middle East.
The United States will continue to take measures
"to"
reduce the resources which support the activities of this terrorist group
", warned the head of the American diplomacy Mike Pompeo.
Tuesday's sanctions are aimed at freezing any assets of targeted individuals and entities in the United States and blocking their access to the US financial system.
Speculation is rife as to whether Mike Pompeo will go so far as to put the Houthis on the US blacklist of terrorist organizations, which could complicate the distribution of humanitarian aid in Yemen.
The administration of Donald Trump, which will leave power on January 20 to that of Joe Biden, has in any case promised to increase the sanctions against Iran until the end, in the name of the "
maximum pressure
" put in place when the current Republican president withdrew the United States from the Iranian nuclear agreement in 2018. The future Democratic president wants to return to him in this agreement supposed to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.