Yemen: Bayda Heads Towards Liberation

Houthi insurgents parade in Sana'a on December 19, 2017. Khaled Abdullah / Reuters
Houthi insurgents parade in Sana'a on December 19, 2017. Khaled Abdullah / Reuters
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Yemen: Bayda Heads Towards Liberation

Houthi insurgents parade in Sana'a on December 19, 2017. Khaled Abdullah / Reuters
Houthi insurgents parade in Sana'a on December 19, 2017. Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

The Yemeni National Army said that its forces had liberated strategic sites in the province of al-Bayda, resulting in casualties among the army and the militias.

Ali al-Akaily, spokesperson of Decisive Brigade affiliated to Yemeni government forces, said that the Yemeni National Army has successfully liberated the last stronghold of insurgents and moved to Bayda in an operation that won’t stop until full the liberation of Bayda province.

“Liberating Bayda would be easy because the militia didn't witness any stability there because the internal resistance didn't surrender, and because the province has no strategic importance for insurgents,” added Akaily.

The operation coincided with the continuous military operations by the Yemeni National Army, supported by the Saudi-led coalition.

Some observers told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the current military operations in the east of Sana’a indicate that the Yemeni National Army has prepared itself for a wide-scope offensive on insurgents' locations nearby Sana’a International Airport."

In the same context, Houhti militias continue to shell residential towns in Taiz, leading to the injury of four civilians. But to cover up their defeats in several battlefronts, Houthis escalated severity of their crimes and violations through detentions, killings and shelling residential towns.

Commenting on this, scholar researcher Dr. Abdo al-Bahesh said to Asharq Al-Awsat: “given that the Houthi militias have been disclosed and hated by people, even when about to collapse, they rushed to launch extensive campaigns of violence, arrests and raids of citizens’ houses, in an attempt to spread fear among residents and to prevent any imminent national revolution against the repressive militias.”

Bahesh added: “Clearly, Houthi militias are behaving hysterically, especially after back-stabbing ally Ali Abdullah Saleh who was providing militias a political cover-up and a social justification of various crimes, including the coup over the Yemeni government.”



US Imposes Fresh Sanctions Targeting Iran Oil Trade, Hezbollah

Supporters of Hezbollah carry flags of Hezbollah as they shout slogans during a celebration organized by Hezbollah in front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 June 2025. (EPA)
Supporters of Hezbollah carry flags of Hezbollah as they shout slogans during a celebration organized by Hezbollah in front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 June 2025. (EPA)
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US Imposes Fresh Sanctions Targeting Iran Oil Trade, Hezbollah

Supporters of Hezbollah carry flags of Hezbollah as they shout slogans during a celebration organized by Hezbollah in front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 June 2025. (EPA)
Supporters of Hezbollah carry flags of Hezbollah as they shout slogans during a celebration organized by Hezbollah in front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 June 2025. (EPA)

The US imposed sanctions on Thursday against a network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil and on a Hezbollah-controlled financial institution, the Treasury Department said.

A network of companies run by Iraqi-British national Salim Ahmed Said has been buying and shipping billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil disguised as, or blended with, Iraqi oil since at least 2020, the department said.

"Treasury will continue to target Tehran’s revenue sources and intensify economic pressure to disrupt the regime’s access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilizing activities," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

The US has imposed waves of sanctions on Iran's oil exports over its nuclear program and funding of militant groups across the Middle East.

Reuters reported late last year that a fuel-oil smuggling network that generates at least $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies has flourished in Iraq since 2022.

Thursday's sanctions came after the US carried out strikes on June 22 on three Iranian nuclear sites including its most deeply buried enrichment plant, Fordow. The Pentagon said on Wednesday the strikes had degraded Iran's nuclear program by up to two years, despite a far more cautious initial assessment that had leaked to the public.

The US and Iran were expected to hold talks about its nuclear program next week in Oslo, Axios reported.

Said’s companies and vessels blend Iranian oil with Iraqi oil, which is then sold to Western buyers via Iraq or the United Arab Emirates as purely Iraqi oil using forged documentation to avoid sanctions, Treasury said.

Said controls UAE-based company VS Tankers though he avoids formal association with it, Treasury said. Formerly known as Al-Iraqia Shipping Services & Oil Trading (AISSOT), VS Tankers has smuggled oil for the benefit of the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is designated by Washington as a terrorist organization, it said.

The sanctions block US assets of those designated and prevent Americans from doing business with them.

VS Tankers denied Treasury's assertions and said it will "pursue all legal remedies as necessary." Iran's mission in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US also sanctioned several vessels that are accused of engaging in the covert delivery of Iranian oil, intensifying pressure on Iran’s "shadow fleet," it said.

The Treasury Department also issued sanctions against several senior officials and one entity associated with the Hezbollah-controlled financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan.

The officials, the department said, conducted millions of dollars in transactions that ultimately benefited, but obscured, Hezbollah.