The Biden administration plans to relist Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a global terrorist group in response to the militants’ attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to an official familiar with the decision.
The Iranian-backed group was designated as a terrorist organization in January of 2021—a move that was met with widespread concern from humanitarian groups, who feared that the restrictions that accompany the designation would make it nearly impossible to provide aid to Yemen’s impoverished civilians.
Tribal supporters of Yemen’s Houthis wave a Palestinian flag and hold up their firearms during a protest on recent U.S.-led strikes on Houthi targets, near Sanaa, Yemen, Jan. 14, 2024.
Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
President Joe Biden quickly delisted the Houthis when he entered office as part of his administration’s diplomatic push to end Yemen’s ongoing civil war.
The administration has been considering reimposing the designation for weeks, but some officials involved in the decision making were reluctant because of possible disruptions to humanitarian assistance and peace talks. The official says these priorities will be safeguarded. However, only time will tell if they can create effective workarounds.
Houthi fighters and tribal supporters hold up their firearms during a protest against recent U.S.-led strikes on Houthi targets, near Sanaa, Yemen, Jan. 14, 2024.
Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
This undated photograph released by the U.S. military’s Central Command shows what it is described as the vessel that carried Iranian-made missile components bound for Yemen’s Houthi in the Arabian Sea. U.S. Navy SEALs seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry from a ship bound for Yemen’s Houthi rebels in a raid that saw two of its commandos go missing, the U.S. military said Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024.
U.S. Central Command/AP
When asked about this topic, Biden recently brushed the label off as “irrelevant.”
“It’s irrelevant whether their designated,” Biden told reporters on Friday when asked how soon he would designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization after he said earlier in the day said he believed that’s what they were.
The possible designation comes as the Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea following Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise terror attack on Israel have riled commercial shipping and threatened to dangerously escalate heightened tensions in the Middle East. In response, the U.S. has carried out airstrikes focused Houthi targets, according to U.S. Central Command.