The Biden administration has not yet decided whether it will redesignate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization.
“It’s an ongoing review,” National Security Council coordinator John Kirby said on Friday, a day after the U.S. military carried out strikes against them for their repeated attacks against commercial vessels in the waterways off the coasts of Yemen.
“No decisions have been made yet,” he added. “I don’t think I could give you an exact timeline or date on the calendar.”
President Joe Biden, when asked by a reporter whether he’d call the Houthis a terrorist group, said, “I think they are.”
Since mid-November, the Yemen-based, Iranian-supported Houthis have carried out attacks on 27 commercial vessels transiting through the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Red Sea. Their attacks, which often include ballistic and cruise missiles, have forced commercial shipping companies to reroute their cargo in a much longer path around the southern tip of South Africa.
Kirby said in late November, following the initial attacks, that they have “begun a review of potential terrorist designations and we’ll be considering other options together with our allies and partners as well.”
The Trump administration designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization in the final days of the administration, which the Biden administration revoked less than a month into President Joe Biden’s term.
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“This decision is a recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Feb. 12, 2021. “We have listened to warnings from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, and bipartisan members of Congress, among others, that the designations could have a devastating impact on Yemenis’ access to basic commodities like food and fuel. The revocations are intended to ensure that relevant U.S. policies do not impede assistance to those already suffering what has been called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”
His predecessor, Mike Pompeo, said at the time they announced the designation, “If Ansarallah did not behave like a terrorist organization, we would not designate it” as one, referencing another name for the Houthis.
