Yemen’s Houthis say they will target US oil firms with sanctions

Yemen’s Houthis will target U.S. oil majors including ExxonMobil and Chevron with sanctions, a body affiliated with the Iran-backed militia said on Tuesday.

The Sanaa-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC), a body set up last year to liaise between Houthi forces and commercial shipping operators, sanctioned 13 U.S. companies, nine executives and two vessels, HOCC said.

The sanctions are in retaliation for U.S. sanctions imposed on the Houthis this year despite a truce agreement with the Trump administration in which the Yemeni group agreed to stop attacking U.S.-linked ships in the Red Sea and the wider Gulf of Aden, HOCC said.
Exxon declined comment and Chevron did not immediately comment.

“It remains unclear whether these sanctions signal that the Houthis will begin targeting vessels linked to the sanctioned organizations, companies, and individuals — a move that would risk violating the ceasefire agreement with the Trump administration, facilitated by Oman,” independent Middle East analyst Mohammed Albasha said in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday.

Read more: Reuters