WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order re-designating Ansar Allah, commonly known as the Houthis, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Trump designated the Iranian-backed militant outfit as a foreign terrorist organization just before leaving office of his first term in January 2021.
Within one month of taking office, the Biden administration reversed the Houthis' designation.
The Houthi movement is a Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. The group has been a central player in Yemen's civil war, and controls large swathes of the country, including the capital city.
The rebel movement has been frequently targeting international shipping in the Red Sea, including U.S. military vessels and oil tankers, since mid-November, 2023, in retaliation for Israeli attacks in Gaza.
The Houthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times, launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure in partner nations, and attacked commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea more than 100 times.
The risky situation in the trade route has forced many shipping companies to suspend Red Sea operations, and reroute their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, adding significant cost and weeks of delay to the delivery of goods.
The Executive Order directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with others, to recommend the re-designation of the Houthis within 30 days.
Under President Trump, it is now the policy of the United States to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate the Houthis' capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources, and thereby end their attacks on U.S. personnel and civilians, U.S. partners, and maritime shipping in the Red Sea, the White House said.
Following the Houthis' re-designation as an FTO, the Executive Order also directs the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Secretary of State to jointly review United Nations partners, nongovernmental organizations, and contractors operating in Yemen.
Following this review, the President will direct USAID to end its relationship with entities that have made payments to the Houthis, or which have opposed international efforts to counter the Houthis while turning a blind eye towards the Houthis' terrorism and abuses.
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