President Donald Trump is presidential order The White House has announced that it will redesignate Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a “foreign terrorist organization” as a threat to regional security. Critics argued that the measure would worsen the country’s already dire humanitarian crisis.
The order reinstates the designation given to the Iranian-backed group, officially known as Ansar Allah, late in the first Trump administration. The Biden administration lifted this designation shortly after taking office, in part to facilitate peace negotiations in Yemen’s civil war.
But last year, the Biden team reversed course and classified the Houthis as a “specially designated global terrorist” organization (a less serious category) in response to attacks on U.S. warships in the Red Sea.
“The Houthi activities threaten the safety of U.S. civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the security of our closest partners in the region, and the stability of global maritime trade,” the White House said in a statement. statement on wednesday.
Trump’s executive order states that U.S. policy is to work with regional partners to “eliminate Ansar Allah’s capabilities and operations.” It also required the U.S. Agency for International Development to review the operations of United Nations partners, private aid agencies, and contractors working in Yemen, including their relationships with groups that paid money to the Houthis or opposed international efforts to counter them. asked them to cut it off.
According to the United Nations, Yemen is experiencing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 18 million people, more than half the population, in need of assistance.
Abdulwaseer Mohammed, Oxfam’s Yemen Policy, Advocacy and Media Manager, said: “This designation also provides a critical lifeline for remittances to Yemenis living in Houthi-controlled areas, where they make up the majority of the country’s population. It will have an impact.” “If designated, the entire economy of the country would go into free fall from crisis.”
During his first term, the Trump administration cited Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as evidence of a threat to regional stability. U.S. officials also hoped the designation would put pressure on the Houthis to negotiate peace.
First revocation of terrorist designation by Biden administration attracted criticism from regional allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates;
Since the Hamas-led offensive on Israel in October 2023, the Houthis, who have acted as the de facto government in much of northern Yemen, have launched hundreds of rockets and drones into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. The plane is being launched.
Israel welcomed the redesignation of the Houthis on Thursday.
“The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Israel without any provocation,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told X. “This is an important step in the fight against terrorism and the elements of instability in the region.” he said.
Rebels also attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, disrupting global maritime trade through key maritime routes to Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The group announced on Sunday that it would scale back its attacks in light of the ceasefire in the Gaza conflict that took effect over the weekend.
