US expected to relist Yemen’s Houthis as ‘specially designated global terrorists’

US president Joe Biden’s administration is expected to announce plans to redesignate Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen as a “specially designated global terrorists”, sources have said.

It comes after the Houthis launched dozens of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The group says it has attacked the ships in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7th attack on Israel.

Three people familiar with the decision – including a US official – were not authorised to comment and requested anonymity to discuss the matter before the expected formal announcement.

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The administration is expected to make the announcement on Wednesday, the US official said.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken delisted the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) and specially designated global terrorists in February 2021 as the administration sought to make it easier to get humanitarian aid into Yemen.

[ The Irish Times view on the conflict in the Red Sea: a real test for EU diplomacy ]

In its waning days, Donald Trump’s administration had designated the Houthis as an FTO over the strong objections of human rights and humanitarian aid groups.

The designation barred Americans and people and organisations subject to US jurisdiction from providing “material support” to the Houthis, which the groups said would result in an even greater humanitarian catastrophe than what was already happening in Yemen.

Shortly after Mr Biden’s administration took office, Mr Blinken removed the designations in a step that was roundly criticised by conservative politicians and others but was intended to keep much-needed food, medicine and other aid flowing to Yemen.

The specially designated global terrorists label to be reimposed on the Houthis does not include sanctions for providing “material support”, and does not come with travel bans also imposed with the FTO label.

Thus, it may not pose a substantial impediment to providing aid to Yemeni civilians.

Meanwhile, a senior White House official said on Tuesday that addressing the ongoing threat by Yemen’s Houthi rebels to commercial vessels in the Red Sea is an “all-hands-on-deck” problem that the US and allies must address together to minimise its impact on the global economy.

[ Rishi Sunak dodges question of UK’s Middle East strategy after Yemen air strikes ]

“How long this goes on and how bad it gets comes down not just to the decisions of the countries in the coalition that took strikes last week,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said during an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Iran-backed Houthi group has launched dozens of attacks since November on vessels in the Red Sea, a vital corridor for the world’s shipping traffic, in what they say is an effort to support Palestinians in the war with Israel.

US and British forces have responded by carrying out dozens of air and sea strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen since Friday. The attacks by the Houthis have continued.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the United Nations, said last week that since November, 2,000 ships have been forced to divert thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea. Houthi militants have threatened or taken hostage mariners from more than 20 countries.

The Red Sea attacks have already caused significant disruptions to global trade. Oil prices have edged higher in recent days, though Brent crude futures were down slightly in early trading on Tuesday.

Mr Sullivan acknowledged that the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, as well as attacks by groups allied to Iran against Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, pose concerns that the Israel-Hamas war could escalate, even as Israeli officials have indicated a shift in intensity in their military campaign.

[ What is the risk of the conflict in Gaza escalating? ]

“We have to guard against and be vigilant against the possibility that in fact, rather than heading towards de-escalation, we are on a path of escalation that we have to manage,” he said. – AP