Arab states increase unified action against the Houthis

ADEN -- A unified regional response in the face of continued Iranian threats against Arab states is now more crucial than ever, analysts say.

Regional co-operation must include, among other measures, imposing sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its network of proxy groups, facilitators and intermediaries, they said.

Sanctions are key in drying up the IRGC's sources of funding and limiting its threat to the global oil trade.

On March 31, Saudi Arabia designated 25 individuals and entities and added them to its terror list for their involvement in activities to facilitate the financing of the Iran-backed Houthis.

All funds and assets of those listed will be frozen, the Saudi State Security Presidency said in a statement carried by Saudi Press Agency.

The designated people and entities have received support from the IRGC's external operations arm, the Quds Force, and were part of an international network that aims to destabilise Yemen, the statement said.

The kingdom said the move comes as part of efforts to target terrorist organisations as well as affiliates and financiers of these organisations.

The list comprises 10 people with Indian, Somali, Syrian, Yemeni, Greek and British nationalities, as well as 15 shipping and trading companies, and money exchange companies.

Earlier, on March 12, the General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers approved the designation of the Houthis as a terrorist group and added their name to the Arab blacklist of perpetrators, masterminds and financiers of terrorist activities.

This move came as a result of the violations against the Yemeni population, including killing, displacement, imprisonment and torture, the Council said.

The Council also condemned the group's violations against neighbouring countries and the international community, including repeated cross-border attacks targeting civilians and civil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Asharq al-Awsat reported.

Iran has continued to smuggle arms to the Houthis, officials said, fueling regional tensions and squandering the opportunity to achieve lasting peace in Yemen.

In December, the US Navy seized 1,400 AK-47 rifles and ammunition from a fishing boat in the North Arabian Sea suspected of originating in Iran.

In January, a confidential UN report concluded that thousands of rocket launchers, machine guns, sniper rifles and other weapons the US Navy seized in the Arabian Sea likely originated from a port in Iran.

Domestic unrest

But Iran's push for war and instability abroad has served only to deepen domestic discontent.

The regime's insistence on upholding the legacy of slain IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani has come at the expense of the Iranian people, who are getting more and more impatient.

In addition to Yemen, the IRGC's expansionist agenda extends to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Over the past decade, the IRGC and, to a much lesser extent, the Artesh (Iran's conventional armed forces) have been allocated the lion's share of the annual budget, with significant increases each year.

They are awarded these funds even as Iran teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, and the public has been grappling with severe economic hardships.

Throughout the past year, anti-regime protests have rocked several major cities over lengthy blackouts, water shortages, stagnant salaries, low wages and unemployment.

Stretched thin by its regional deployments and severely lacking in funding, the IRGC may lack the power to counter another large-scale uprising against the regime, observers warn.

Besieging IRGC networks

The recent Saudi designations are in line with a raft of measures the United States has taken over the years to disrupt Iran's illicit activities.

Among them was the 2019 Rewards for Justice (RFJ) offer of up to $15 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of the IRGC and its branches, including the IRGC-Quds Force.

This also includes seeking information on the IRGC's illicit oil sales.

The Houthis rely on looting state resources, money from Iran and drug-smuggling networks to finance their war, Yemeni Deputy Minister of Justice Faisal al-Majeedi told Al-Mashareq.

As such, he said, the designations "will have a significant impact in the region".

"The Saudi decision is of utmost importance because it besieged large networks working for the Houthis in money laundering and terrorist financing operations," economist Faris al-Najjar said.

He said the decision "is in line with previous decisions made by the US Treasury in co-operation with the Gulf States, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE."

"Drying up the Houthis' sources of funding through the multinational cover companies Iran has established is a necessity to safeguard the interests of the region's countries and global trade," he said.

Co-ordination of regional efforts

Al-Najjar said uncovering companies working for the Houthis -- and by extension the IRGC -- is not easy and requires shared intelligence, as these companies are linked to money laundering and smuggling activities.

However, he said, making the effort is important to curb these activities, which have created a parallel economy in the region.

Imposing sanctions on entities and individuals is a step in the right direction, but it must be followed by more steps, he said, as the Houthis have "hundreds" of multinational companies operating under the direction of Iran and Hizbullah.

Political analyst Mahmoud al-Taher called on regional governments and those involved in the fight against terrorism to take similar steps to curb terrorist activities in the region.

The United States has imposed sanctions on entities and individuals who support the Houthis and are affiliated with Iran, "which is what all other countries in the region should do, and not just Saudi Arabia and the UAE", he said.

All countries that oppose Iranian interference in the region should collaborate to "research, investigate and uncover" more networks that serve Iran and threaten regional security and international navigation, said al-Taher.