US to blacklist Iranian official and university

The United States imposed terrorism sanctions on Iran’s envoy to the Houthis, Hasan Irlu, as well as Iran’s Al-Mustafa International University, and blacklisted Yousef Ali Muraj, an Iran-based Pakistani citizen, reports Reuters.

The US described Hasan Irlu’s recent dispatch to Yemen as a signal Tehran plans to increase its support to the Houthis and make it harder to resolve the five-year war in the Gulf state. The US Treasury, confirming a Reuters report, described Irlu as an official of Iran’s elite Quds Force, the overseas arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a central element in Tehran’s efforts to project its power in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East.

The Treasury also said Iran’s Al-Mustafa International University uses its branches around the world as a Quds Force recruitment platform for intelligence collection and operations. Irlu, Muraj and the university were all targeted under US Executive Order 13224, which allows Washington to block the assets of foreign individuals and entities that commit, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism.
Full report on the Ahram Online site