The Biden administration is considering re-designating the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen as a terrorist organization, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters last week.
“In light of the recent targeting of civilians by the Houthis, and now the piracy of a ship in international waters, we have begun a review of potential terrorist designations, and we’ll be considering other options together with our allies and partners,” he said.
The consideration comes as Houthi rebels have been targeting Israeli-linked ships and recently fired two ballistic missiles toward a U.S. warship in the Gulf of Aden after the Navy responded to a distress call from a tanker that came “under attack” by armed men.
The Trump administration designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in January 2021, only to have the Biden administration reverse the decision the following month over humanitarian concerns.
Experts say it's well past time to re-designate the group.
“The Houthis talk and act like a terrorist organization because that’s what they are. It’s time for U.S. policy to reflect that fact once again," said Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Center on Military and Political Power.
Earlier this month, Republican lawmakers wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the group's re-designation.
“Re-designating the Houthis as an FTO would send a powerful message that the United States views this group as a clear threat to our Allies and partners and to regional stability in the Middle East. Since Hamas’s savage terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, the Houthis have launched three attacks against the Jewish state and promised to carry out more strikes ‘until the Israeli aggression stops,’” the senators wrote.
“While the Houthi movement’s Iranian backers chant ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’ its own doctrine is replete with virulent anti-Semitism and calls for genocide, including its own chant of ‘Death to America, Death to Israel, Damn the Jews.’ The Houthi’s alliance with Iran has allowed the IRGC to apply sustained military pressure against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Between 2015 and 2022, the Houthis carried out nearly 1,000 missile attacks and 350 drone strikes against cities and key infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia alone, including against oil facilities, airports, and military sites,” the letter continued.