United Nations: Fuel loaded from ports in Iran has generated revenue to finance the Yemen Houthi rebel war effort against the Saudi-backed government, according to a report by a UN panel of experts.
The findings are expected to again raise questions about Iran’s support for the Houthis in the war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe. In its final report for 2018, the panel said it had “identified a small number of companies, both within Yemen and outside, which operated as front companies,” using fake documents to conceal fuel donations.
The fuel was “for the benefit of a listed individual” who is on a UN sanctions blacklist, it added.
“The revenue from the sale of this fuel was used to finance the Houthi war effort,” said the 85-page report sent to the Security Council.
The panel found that the “fuel was loaded from ports in Iran under false documentation” to avoid UN inspections of the cargo, it added.
The experts have in past reports pointed to a possible Iranian link to missiles fired by Houthi rebels at Saudi Arabia, after they travelled to Riyadh to examine weapons debris.
In a previous report, the experts said they were investigating monthly fuel donations from Iran valued at $30 million.
The Houthis control the city and key port of Hodeidah, a main entry point for imports to Yemen that pro-government forces had planned to capture in a new offensive launched in June.
A ceasefire in Hodeidah was agreed during UN-brokered talks last month in Sweden and UN monitors are on the ground to oversee a pullback of forces from the port. Government forces and the coalition have made “significant progress” on the ground against the Houthis,” said the report.