Obama OKs sanctions against potential transition spoilers in Yemen

President Obama on Wednesday signed an executive order authorizing the use of sanctions designed to keep supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh from seeking to regain power.

The United States last year helped orchestrate a presidential transition to Saleh's vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, in an attempt to defuse an Arab Spring-inspired upheaval against Saleh's 33-year rule. Yemen is a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

"Upon Treasury’s identification and listing of a designated individual or entity under this E.O.," says a Treasury Department fact sheet, "any property in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons in which the individual or entity has an interest would be blocked, and U.S. persons would be prohibited from engaging in transactions with them."

Wednesday's order doesn't name names but allows the Treasury Department to impose sanctions on “individuals and entities who threaten the peace, security, and stability of Yemen by disrupting the political transition,” according to a White House statement.

The full White House statement is below:

Today, President Obama signed an Executive Order authorizing sanctions to be imposed on individuals and entities who threaten the peace, security, and stability of Yemen by disrupting the political transition. This Executive Order will allow the United States to take action against those who seek to undermine Yemen’s transition and the Yemeni peoples’ clear desire for change. The President took this step because he believes that the legitimate aspirations of the Yemeni people, along with the urgent humanitarian and security challenges, cannot be addressed if political progress stalls.

Yemen’s transition represents an important step forward for the Yemeni people, who deserve the opportunity to determine their future. The United States strongly supports Yemen’s political transition and will continue to work with our international partners, including the Gulf Cooperation Council, to help Yemen chart a more secure, democratic, and prosperous path forward.