AP
Houthi fighters and tribesmen hold a rally against U.S. and U.K. attacks on Houthi-administered military sites near Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP photo)
CNN –
The Biden administration on Wednesday redesignated the Houthis as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) amid continued attacks by Yemen-based militia.
Government officials said the SDGT designation was aimed at deterring the Houthis from their continued aggression in the Red Sea. It is the latest in a series of U.S. actions against the Iran-backed group and comes at a time when the specter of a broader regional war is ever-present in the Middle East.
“These attacks are a clear example of terrorism and a violation of international law and pose a major threat to lives and global commerce and jeopardize the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” a senior U.S. government official said in a call with reporters on Tuesday.
The government removed the Houthis' SDGT designation and delisted them as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) in February 2021, following their designation by the Trump administration in recent weeks.
At the time, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the decision to remove the group's designation was prompted by concerns that it could jeopardize the ability to provide critical assistance to the people of Yemen. He said it was “a recognition of the terrible humanitarian situation in Yemen.”
However, pressure has mounted on the government to reinstate the designations in light of attacks in the Red Sea, which the Houthis say are retaliation for Israel's military offensive in Gaza. The attacks have had consequences for the global economy, effectively closing one of the world's most important trade routes to most container ships.
The government has not relisted the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization.
Both terrorist designations trigger economic sanctions, but only an FTO designation imposes a travel ban on members of the group and authorizes sanctions on those who “provide material support” to it, according to the State Department.
“We believe that the SDGT designation is the appropriate tool at the moment to put pressure on the Houthis,” the senior government official said. The official said the SDGT designation allows for “greater flexibility” in combating the Houthis while minimizing risk to humanitarian assistance.
The re-introduced SDGT designation will take effect 30 days from Tuesday, the official said, “so that we can ensure that robust humanitarian carve-outs are in place so that our actions target the Houthis and not the people of Yemen.”
A second senior government official said the government would contact organizations involved in humanitarian assistance to Yemen during this 30-day period. According to the World Food Program, 21.6 million people were dependent on such aid in 2023.
The officials said the designation should have no impact on the fragile ceasefire in Yemen between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition.
They also argued that the terrorist designation was part of a broader effort to get the Houthis to stop their attacks in the Red Sea.
“If there is an end to Houthi attacks on ships, we stand ready to consider whether this classification is very much targeted at this specific terrorist behavior. We would also be prepared to expect it not to come into force if the Houthis stopped tomorrow,” the first official said. “Our aim with these sanctions is strictly to stop these attacks, rather than a broader range of behavior.”
Last Thursday, the United States and the United Kingdom launched strikes against Houthi targets in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. President Joe Biden said he ordered the strikes “in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks on international maritime vessels in the Red Sea,” adding that he “will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to protect our people and the free flow of international trade.” to take”. .”
Since then, the US has carried out further attacks against the Houthis.
Administration officials have repeatedly said they view these measures as defensive rather than escalatory measures.
“When the Houthis started these attacks, we pushed very hard for them to stop, but without any escalation,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNBC on Tuesday. “This was an attack on international trade, international shipping, not an attack on Israel, not an attack on the United States. For this reason, more than 40 countries came together to condemn the Houthis' actions. That’s why other countries came together and said: If this continues, there will be consequences, not to escalate but to make them stop.”
“We didn’t want to see any escalation since October 7,” he said. “We work every day to prevent this, including in the Red Sea.”
This story has been updated with additional information.