Run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.. Washington imposes sanctions on an international network that funds the Houthis in Yemen

The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on an international network run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on charges of financing the Houthi group in Yemen and supporting its attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The ministry said - in a statement - that the network covered by the sanctions is under the leadership of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Houthi financier Saeed Al-Jamal, and that the network transferred tens of millions of dollars to Yemen through a complex network of intermediaries.

The US Treasury added that the sanctions decision was taken in cooperation and coordination with the US allies in the Gulf, noting that it continues to work with Washington's allies in the region to target those seeking to prolong the war in Yemen for their own goals, as the statement put it.

The ministry called on the Houthis to stop what it described as their violent campaign and to negotiate in good faith to end the conflict.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Houthi attacks inside Yemen and against its neighbors and targeting civilian sites in Saudi Arabia and the UAE led to civilian casualties.

He added - in a statement - that the continuation of the Houthi military attack in Marib has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Blinken accused the Houthis of holding current and former Yemeni employees at the US embassy in Sanaa for months without allowing them to contact their families.

Blinken affirmed his country's commitment to helping Saudi Arabia and the UAE to defend themselves and tens of thousands of Americans residing in the Gulf against Houthi attacks.

The Houthis used to launch ballistic missiles and booby-trapped drones at Saudi, Emirati and Yemeni regions, in return for repeated announcements by the Saudi-led coalition to thwart these attacks.

At the request of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, the coalition has supported the pro-government forces since March 2015 in the face of the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have controlled governorates including the capital, Sanaa, since September 2014.