Monday 06 / October / 2025
Aden: Yemen's Houthi group has recently announced sanctions on some of the United States' largest oil companies, senior executives, and crude carriers.
The decision has raised concerns over maritime security and stability in the Red Sea, one of the world's most vital shipping corridors, as well as risks undermining a ceasefire between the United States and the Houthis.
The Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC) in Sanaa said it had sanctioned 13 US entities, nine individuals, and two vessels.
The HOCC, which functions as a liaison body between Houthi authorities and commercial shipping operators and is closely tied to the group's military structure, announced through its official website that those blacklisted entities would be treated "in accordance with the principle of confrontation."
Among those entities designated by the Houthis are oil majors ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, and Marathon Petroleum, along with their top executives, accused of violating a Houthi decree prohibiting the export of U.S. crude oil.
The HOCC stated that "the HOCC will employ all available means and instruments to confront any hostile measures taken by any State or group against the Republic of Yemen, in accordance with the applicable laws and relevant regulations."
Last month, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 32 individuals and entities, as well as four vessels linked to the Houthis, saying the move was aimed at disrupting the group's fundraising, smuggling operations and attacks.
Houthi officials in Sanaa framed their counter-sanctions as a legitimate act of self-defense, arguing that Washington escalated first by blacklisting Yemeni companies, ships, and individuals involved in transporting essential supplies into war-torn Yemen.
"It is neither reasonable nor fair that we should be subjected to a blockade and sanctions, and remain silent in the face of these oppressive measures," Hamid Abdul-Qader, an advisor to the Houthi-led government, told local media.
He said that the latest actions were taken to protect the Yemeni people's rights in the face of continued external pressure.
The recent Houthi sanctions came just months after the representatives of the group and Washington agreed to an Omani-brokered truce in May, a deal that paused two months of U.S. airstrikes in Yemen. In return, the Houthis pledged to halt their attacks on American ships in the Red Sea.
While the new Houthi measures have raised concerns about the durability and future of the truce, Houthi officials argue their sanctions fall outside the scope of the deal.
Member of Yemen's Houthi Political Bureau Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti said in a statement posted on social media platform X that the group's decision to ban U.S. oil exports within their operational areas does not violate the ceasefire with Washington. Instead, he framed it as a justified countermeasure to what he described as an American-imposed blockade restricting fuel shipments into Yemen.
Al-Bukhaiti stressed that the Houthis would not accept a "one-sided equation," in which the United States could escalate militarily and enforce economic pressure unchecked. "Aggression will be met with aggression, and blockade with blockade," he warned.
Muqbil Naji, a political analyst based in Aden, said that while the Houthis insist their actions are defensive, the United States may interpret them differently.
"If the Houthis move beyond declarations and begin actively targeting US vessels, Washington is likely to respond militarily," said Naji, warning that the group is "gambling" with a fragile peace from a strategic perspective.
