President Donald Trump has issued a Executive order To redirect the Houthi rebels of Yemen as a “foreign terrorist organization”, qualifying the group a threat to regional security, said the White House. Critics argued that the measure will worsen an already humanitarian crisis in the country.
The order restores a designation given to the group, backed by Iran and formally known as Ansar Allah, at the end of the first Trump administration. The Biden administration raised the designation shortly after assuming the position, partly to facilitate the peace talks in the Civil War of Yemen.
Last year, however, the Biden team reversed the course, labeling the hutis as a “specially designated global terrorist” organization, a less severe category, in response to attacks against US warships in the Red Sea.
“The activities of the hutis threaten the safety of US civilians and staff in the Middle East, the security of our closest regional partners and the stability of global maritime trade,” said the White House in a statement On Wednesday.
Trump’s executive order said US policy would seek to “eliminate Ansar Allah” capacities and operations, in cooperation with regional partners. He also asked the United States Agency for International Development to review the Operations of United Nations Partners, Private Assistance Agencies and Contractors who work in Yemen and cut the ties with any entity that has made payments to the hutis U opposite to international efforts to counteract the group.
Yemen is home to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with more than 18 million people, more than half of the population, which require help, according to the United Nations.
“The designation will also affect the vital life line of remittances to the Yemenis living in areas controlled by Houthi, which represents the vast majority of the country’s population,” said Abdulwasea Mohammed, Oxfam in the politics, defense and manager of Yemen media. “A designation would push the economy throughout the country from the crisis to free fall.”
During his first term, the Trump administration cited the attacks of missiles and drones of the hutis against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as evidence of their threat to regional stability. American officials also expected the designation to press the Hutis to participate in peace conversations.
The initial investment of the Biden administration of the terrorist designation He drew criticism of regional allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Since the attack led by Hamas against Israel in October 2023, the Hutis, who act as the de facto government in large part of Northern Yemen, have fired hundreds of rockets and drones in Israel in solidarity with Hamas.
Israel welcomed the networks of the hutis.
“The Hutis have repeatedly attacked Israel without any provocation on their part,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, in X. “This is an important step to combat terror and fight the destabilizing elements in our region.”
The rebels have also attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, interrupted the global shipping trade through key sea routes for traffic for Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
On Sunday, the group announced that it would reduce its attacks, high the fire in the conflict in Gaza that came into force during the weekend.
