The United States declared, on Wednesday, its intention to reclassify Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis as a “terrorist” entity. This decision is attributed to their recurrent assaults on international shipping in the Red Sea.
The United States announced Wednesday that it will put Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis back on a list of “terrorist” entities due to their repeated attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis have already faced multiple rounds of airstrikes in response to their targeting of merchant vessels. They vowed after the designation announcement that they would continue attacks they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling the militant group Hamas.
“The Department of State today is announcing the designation of Ansarullah, commonly referred to as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group, effective 30 days from today,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
“The Houthis must be held accountable for their actions, but it should not be at the expense of Yemeni civilians,” he said.
“During the 30-day implementation delay, the US government will conduct robust outreach to stakeholders, aid providers and partners who are crucial to facilitating humanitarian assistance and the commercial import of critical commodities in Yemen,” Blinken said.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the designation “is an important tool to impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets and hold them accountable for their actions.”
“If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will immediately reevaluate this designation,” Sullivan said in a statement.
The Houthis, however, said Wednesday that they will not call off their strikes.
While the Houthis say they have been targeting Israeli-linked vessels, Washington claims dozens of countries have connections to the ships that have been attacked.
The “terrorist” designation is part of Washington’s strategy to put pressure on the Houthis, which also includes military action against them and the establishment of an international coalition to help protect shipping from their attacks.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
