File image. (The United States Department of Treasury)
The United States Treasury Department on November 14 imposed sanctions on companies, individuals and vessels associated with a Syrian company that is allegedly funding Iran’s Quds Force and Yemen’s Houthis.
In a statement, the department said that the Al-Qatirji Company is responsible for generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Quds Force, the external expeditionary wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Houthis through the sale of Iranian oil to Syria and China.
“Iran is increasingly relying on key business partners like the Al-Qatirji Company to fund its destabilizing activities and web of terrorist proxies across the region,” said department official Bradley Smith.
The Al-Qatirji Company had already been under sanctions for its role in facilitating the sale of fuel to the Syrian government, the department added.
Some 26 companies, individuals and vessels associated with the oil company were targeted by the latest sanctions, it noted.
The sanctions were likely imposed in support of Israel. The Quds Force is the main backers of Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions resisting Israel in the Gaza Strip, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon. In addition, the Houthis have been launching attacks against Israel and merchant vessels linked to the country for over a year.
It’s worth noting that the founder of Al-Qatirji Company, Syrian tycoon Mohammed Baraa Katerji, was killed on July 15 in a suspected Israeli drone strike near the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The assassination had no real effect on the operations of the company. This likely motivated the U.S. to tighten its sanctions.
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