US to re-list Houthis as specially designated global terrorists amid Red Sea attacks

Nearly three years after removing them from US government rolls of international terrorist groups, the Biden administration is re-adding the Yemen-based Houthis to a list of specially designated global terrorists following a series of attacks by the group on US forces and international shipping in the Red Sea.

A senior Biden administration official told reporters late Tuesday that the Houthi militia will not be re-added to the ranks of groups designated by the State Department as Foreign Terrorist Organisations, but will instead receive the lesser designation, which automatically imposes a range of US sanctions on the group.

By contrast, a designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation makes it a crime for anyone to provide “material support” to the group, a category broad enough to potentially include humanitarian aid meant for the people of Yemen.

The official said the re-designation of the Houthis under the SDGT category was necessitated by the group’s string of attacks against US forces and international shipping.

“Over the past month, Yemen based Houthi militants have engaged in unprecedented attacks against US military forces and international maritime vessels operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. These attacks fit the textbook definition of terrorism, endanger US personnel, civilian mariners and our partners, jeopardising global trade and threatening freedom of navigation,” the official said.

“We are taking this action because of the Iranian backed Houthis’ continued attacks on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. These attacks are a clear example of terrorism and are a violation of international law and a major threat to lives, global commerce and they jeopardise the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” the