US re-designates Yemen’s Houthis as specially designated global terrorists

The White House’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan made the announcement on Wednesday, saying it was a response to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

“Today, in response to these continuing threats and attacks, the United States announced the designation of Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” Sullivan stated in a statement.

However, he added that the designation – which comes into effect in 30 days – could be reevaluated if the Houthis cease attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Administration officials say the designation is aimed at deterring the Houthis from their ongoing aggression in the Red Sea.

It is the latest in a series of US actions targeting the armed group, and comes as the specter of a wider regional war in the Middle East looms large amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

The Biden administration claimed that the re-designation of the Houthis, which comes with harsh sanctions, will not have a negative impact on the people of Yemen since the sanctions will include “unprecedented” humanitarian carve-outs.

“We are sending a clear message: commercial shipments into Yemeni ports on which the Yemeni people rely for food, medicine and fuel should continue and are not covered by our sanctions,” the White House announced in a news statement on Wednesday.

The administration removed the Houthis’ SDGT designation and de-listed it as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) in February 2021, after it was designated by former President Donald Trump’s administration in its final weeks.

Rights advocates have warned that blacklisting the Houthis would complicate the work of humanitarian organisations operating in areas under the group’s control. Yemen is enduring one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises where millions of people are dependent on international aid.

A spokesman for the Yemeni group has stated that the attacks on ships in the Red Sea heading to Israel will continue, despite the designation.

The US designation of Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist group will not affect their operations to prevent Israeli ships or ships heading to Israel from crossing the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters on Wednesday.

In solidarity with the Palestinians in besieged territory, the Yemeni armed forces have targeted ships in the Red Sea with owners linked to Israel or those going to and from ports in the occupied territories.

In response, the US has formed a military coalition against Yemeni forces in the Red Sea and endangered maritime navigation in the strategic waterway.

The US and the UK, backed by Bahrain, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, struck more than 60 targets at almost 30 locations in Yemen on Friday, killing five people and injuring six others.

On Saturday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that a “follow-on action” was conducted against a Yemeni radar facility in Sana’a by the Navy destroyer USS Carney using Tomahawk land attack missiles.