The United States is simultaneously ramping up military and economic pressure on Iranian proxy forces. While expanding military support for Saudi Arabia's response to the Houthi rebels, the U.S. has also initiated additional sanctions targeting the funding networks of Shiite militias in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
CNN reported on September 10, citing multiple sources familiar with the operations, that more than 100 U.S. military advisors have been deployed to Saudi Arabia to provide intelligence and target selection support for Saudi military operations against the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen.
One U.S. official indicated that the number of American troops involved in this mission is around 200. These personnel have been active in a newly established joint military command in recent weeks, following indications that Iran was increasing its support for Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. has reportedly provided tools similar to the Department of Defense's AI-based target identification system, known as 'Maven,' to help Saudi forces assess real-time battlefield situations. They are also offering target selection support using geospatial information for Saudi attacks against the Houthis.
However, the U.S. is not directly participating in attacks against the Houthis. While sharing information with Saudi forces, sources noted that the U.S. is not providing direct operational support, such as air refueling for Saudi fighter jets, as it has in the past.
The expansion of U.S. support comes amid growing concerns that the Houthis are intensifying their offensive against Saudi Arabia and could establish a 'second front' in the Red Sea region.
This week, the Houthis launched missile and drone attacks on energy facilities in southern Saudi Arabia and seized the strategic port city of Mocha along the Red Sea coast. This gives them a foothold that could threaten the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial maritime transport route connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
U.S. authorities currently believe that hundreds of officers from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are operating alongside the Houthis in Yemen, assisting in the blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently claimed that Iran is involved in Houthi attacks targeting Saudi energy facilities.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is also intensifying economic pressure to cut off funding for Iranian proxy forces. The U.S. Treasury Department announced that it has added several Middle Eastern companies and individuals to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list for allegedly supporting Shiite militias in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The sanctions target entities and individuals operating in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Lebanon that have close ties to the IRGC and have supported or conducted transactions with Kata'ib Hezbollah in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has stated that it is rejecting various requests for licenses to engage in transactions with Iran, except in exceptional cases, and is mostly denying pending requests related to Iran.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bensent warned in a statement that the 'economic isolation operation' targets those who continue to side with the failing Iranian regime, stating, 'We will identify and block those who fund or launder money for terrorism and dismantle the networks that help Iran evade sanctions and sustain its regime.'
* This article has been translated by AI.
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