Biden puts Houthis back on list of global terror groups
The United States on Wednesday relisted Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a global terrorist group in response to their relentless attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said the U.S. designation will not affect their operations, which he characterized as an effort to support the Palestinians, and ruled out stopping attacks on ships heading to Israel from the seas.
The U.S. State Department said the designation, aimed at blocking money and weapons from going to the Iran-backed militia, will take effect in 30 days.
While the Houthis must be held accountable for the “unprecedented” attacks that have disrupted trade and interfered with navigational rights and freedoms, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, the United States recognizes it “should not be at the expense of Yemeni civilians.”
Blinken said the U.S. government will take steps to prevent the relisting from having a significant impact on humanitarian assistance or the commercial import of critical items in Yemen. He said the government will reach out to stakeholders, aid providers and their partners before the designation goes into effect.
The move came after the U.S. and British militaries started launching airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen last week as the rebels had shown no signs of ceasing the attacks on international commercial shipping that they began in November.
The Iran-aligned group has said it is acting in solidarity with the people of Palestine and will not halt the attacks as long as Israel, which has been at war with the Hamas militant group since early October, continues military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis were last designated a global terrorist organization by the United States in January of 2021, when President Joe Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump was still in power, in an attempt to strengthen pressure on Iran.
But soon after its inception, the Biden administration delisted the Houthis in February of that year as part of efforts to end Yemen’s civil war and resolve a humanitarian crisis.
Biden’s top security aide, Jake Sullivan, said the Houthis’ recent attacks “fit the textbook definition of terrorism.”
“This 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,” Sullivan said in a statement.
He said the Biden administration will immediately reassess the designation if they change course, but warned that “the United States will not hesitate to take further actions to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce.”
Biden needs to be encouraged to take similar actions against Khalistani terrorists operating from its soil .
