Commentary
On Jan. 12, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions against two companies for shipping Iranian commodities on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF)-backed Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal. This action occurred just days after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened retaliation against Israel and its allies for the death of IRGC Gen. Razi Mousavi, who was killed in an Israeli missile strike in Syria.
Israel is now under attack on multiple fronts from Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, while the Houthi rebels in Yemen are targeting Israel-bound ships in the Red Sea. The commonality among these three terrorist organizations is that they have received direct support from the IRGC.
The IRGC was founded in 1979 as the defenders of the Islamic Revolution. The IRGC reports directly to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s highest-ranking political and religious authority. The Supreme Leader significantly influences the nation’s political, military, and religious institutions. Today, the IRGC is an official component of Iran’s military but operates outside the usual military chain of command, acting at the direct behest of the Supreme Leader.
Furthermore, the IRGC operates independently of Iran’s judicial and legal framework, having almost unbridled authority to enforce the government’s Islamic codes and morality. In addition to maintaining the government’s power in Iran, the IRGC controls large sectors of the economy and uses its money and influence to fund terrorist activities and provide support to militant groups in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Syria, and Yemen.
The IRGC, the most powerful paramilitary organization in the region, has been branded a terrorist organization by numerous countries, including the United States. The IRGC supports other terrorist and militant factions—including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis—by providing training, weapons, money, intelligence, and military advisement.
According to the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency, the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel was retaliation for the 2020 assassination of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, a unit of the IRGC. Soleimani was also responsible for foreign operations. He was specifically targeted and killed by a U.S. drone near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq due to his role in directing Iran’s proxy wars throughout the region. The Pentagon accused Soleimani of planning attacks against U.S. diplomats, military personnel, and even the U.S. homeland. The U.S. Department of Defense stated that the strike was carried out to deter future Iranian attacks and to protect American personnel in the region.
The Iran-backed groups not only threaten the United States and Israel but could also potentially trigger a major war. In addition to the Houthis attacking international shipping, Iran’s proxies have launched missiles and rockets at U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria, resulting in injuries to several American soldiers.
So far, the United States has sanctioned a number of entities involved in the IRGC’s financial support for the Houthis. The funding flows through a complex network of exchange houses directed by the IRGC extraterritorial Quds Force, the unit of the recently killed Gen. Razi Mousavi. As the attacks on U.S. and allied targets intensify, the response is more likely to be military. Since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Iran-backed militias have launched drone, rocket, and missile strikes on U.S. targets 37 times in Iraq and 40 times in Syria. In response, a U.S. airstrike in Syria targeted weapons depots and other facilities linked to the IRGC and the militias. The United States also struck numerous locations in Iraq last month after a militia group attacked U.S. forces at al-Asad air base.
Although the Houthis claim that they only want to attack Israeli ships and ships going to Israel, numerous vessels from various countries and with different destinations have been attacked. As a result, the International Maritime Security Construct has issued a warning to international shippers, advising them to avoid the Red Sea. However, diverting the long way around Africa costs up to an additional $1 million. This cost will be added to all raw materials and consumer products transported through the region.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Khalid bin Salman, to discuss the Houthi threat and the formation of an international coalition to protect ships passing through the region. A Wall Street Journal report uncovered Iran’s direct involvement in the Houthi attacks, stating that Iran provided weapons and targeting assistance to the rebel group. Now that the White House has substantiated the report, many Americans are calling for a harsher response, including attacks on both Yemen and Iran. President Joe Biden, however, is walking a thin line, attempting to protect U.S. and Israeli interests, as well as safeguarding ships from other nations, while preventing the conflict from escalating.
Israel seems keen on engaging Hezbollah directly and ending the threat once and for all. The fallout, however, would be massive destruction in multiple countries. If the U.S. supports Israel against Hezbollah and also launches attacks directly on Yemen, Iran may become directly involved. If the United States does nothing, however, the IRGC will continue to work as a clandestine tool of Tehran, backing terrorist groups and militias in the region, costing lives and causing instability indefinitely. In the immediate term, if the United States fails to deliver a harsh, punitive response to the Houthis, global shipping will be significantly disrupted, and consumer goods will be more expensive.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
