US sanctions on Iran are approaching the leaders of the coordination framework in Iraq and coincide with the escalation of the Houthis in Yemen and tensions in southern Lebanon.

It was reported in Baghdad, yesterday, Friday, that sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department to isolate Iran had begun to knock on the doors of the ruling “Coordinating Framework” coalition in Iraq and were approaching its leading figures.

The US Treasury said that measures targeting organizations and individuals supporting the Hezbollah Brigades included Abdul Mohsen Ali Akbar Namdar and Majid Ali Akbar, who, according to sources, are two brothers of Mohsen al-Mandalawi, a leader in the “coordination framework,” and the former deputy speaker of Parliament. The US Treasury added that the individuals included in the latest sanctions list are part of a “regional network of Iranian-backed militias.”

These developments prompted a leader in the former Prime Minister’s coalition, Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani, to expect a “political earthquake” in the region along with “sanctions that are difficult to avoid.”

These positions came in the midst of a debate about the fate of the factions that recently stipulated the enactment of a law that “restricts the weapons of everyone without exception.” However, Qais Al-Khazali, an official of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said that the “Peshmerga” are forces “recognized according to the law.”

Yesterday, the Houthis expanded their control on the western coast of Yemen to areas of the Dhubab District, coinciding with their members entering Mayon Island and taking control of the Hanish Islands archipelago and Zuqar Island in the Red Sea.

The group's advance comes the day after it took control of Mokha and its port, in a field shift that redrew the map of military deployment on the western coast, and prompted government forces to rearrange their lines south of the city.

This development raises the risks surrounding Bab al-Mandab, while the Yemeni government has intensified its diplomatic action internationally and regionally, in an attempt to protect Bab al-Mandab and place the Houthi threat to navigation in the Red Sea at the forefront of international attention.

This move coincided with an emergency Security Council session that discussed the Houthi escalation. There were firm American, British and French positions regarding the attacks targeting Yemen, Saudi Arabia and maritime navigation, while UN envoy Hans Grundberg warned that the return of war had become a reality.

Anxiety gripped the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon after the Israeli bombing of two two-kilometre-long tunnels in the Ali Al-Taher Heights. The bombing doubled fears of the “next stage,” amid a statement by Defense Minister Yisrael Katz in which he said: “We are ready to continue the campaign and continue striking (Hezbollah) and in additional locations.” He also defined what he called the “security border,” which extends across the Mediterranean coast in the west to Mount Hermon in the east.

Residents in the south recounted how they experienced a “difficult night,” during which “the ground shook for about 5 seconds.”

In a related context, the Lebanese government issued a decision prohibiting the sale of its occupied lands for fear of Israel. Finance Minister Yassin Jaber said that the decision “aims to protect property and prevent any attempt to transfer its ownership to parties linked to the occupation.”