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US Relists Houthis as Terrorists in Response to Red Sea Attacks
Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in this photo released Nov. 20, 2023. Photo: Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS
The US government on Wednesday returned the Yemen-based Houthi rebels to a list of terrorist groups in the latest attempt by Washington to stem attacks on international shipping.
Officials said the “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT) designation, which hits the Iran-aligned group with harsh sanctions, was aimed at cutting off funding and weapons the Houthis have used to attack or hijack ships in vital Red Sea shipping lanes.
“This designation is an important tool to impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets, and hold them accountable for their actions,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
“If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will immediately reevaluate this designation.”
US President Joe Biden’s administration also issued “carve outs” aimed at avoiding an impact on Yemen’s population, which relies on food imports and humanitarian aid, and pledged to conduct outreach to groups including aid agencies before the designation comes into effect in 30 days.
The Houthis’ campaign has disrupted global commerce, stoked fears of inflation, and deepened concern that fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the Middle East.
Biden last week called the Houthis a “terrorist” group. American and British warplanes, ships, and submarines have launched dozens of air strikes targeting the Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen.
The US military on Tuesday carried out its latest strike against four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles, two US officials told Reuters.
On Wednesday, Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters the designation would not affect operations, which the group says are in support of the Palestinians and target Israeli ships or ships heading to Israel.
The attacks are part of a broad response to the Gaza conflict by a so-called Axis of Resistance — including the Houthis alongside Palestinian terrorists Hamas, Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and Iraq’s Shiite militias — backed by US adversary Iran.
“We will continue to counter and blunt Iranian malign influence wherever we can. So of course the choice to move away from Iran is now in the hands of the Houthis,” said one of three administration officials who briefed reporters ahead of the announcement on condition of anonymity.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing government forces fighting the Houthis in a war widely seen as a proxy conflict between US ally Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Former US President Donald Trump’s administration added the Houthis to two lists designating them as terrorists a day before its term ended. The United Nations, aid groups, and some US lawmakers expressed fears that sanctions would disrupt flows of food, fuel, and other commodities into Yemen.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Feb. 12, 2021, revoked the designations in “recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen.”
On Wednesday the Houthis were relisted as a SDGT group, but not as a “foreign terrorist organization,” which includes stricter prohibitions on providing material support to those on the list and would mean automatic travel bans. US officials said this would make it easier to exempt humanitarian goods from sanctions.
The UN describes the humanitarian crisis in Yemen as “severe” with more than 21 million people — two thirds of the population — in need of aid. It says more than 80 percent of the population struggles to access food, safe drinking water, and adequate health services.
Asked about the US move, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations was committed to continuing its work in the country “in line with our principles of impartiality, neutrality, and independence.”
“Unilateral sanctions, in any context, can have an impact — often unintended — on the well-being of civilians,” he added.
The US Treasury Department also issued licenses authorizing certain transactions involving the Houthis, including transactions related to agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, telecommunications, and personal remittances. Also authorized were transactions involving the Houthis related to port and airport operations and transactions related to refined petroleum products in Yemen.
“The Houthis must be held accountable for their actions, but it should not be at the expense of Yemeni civilians,” Blinken said in a statement.
The post US Relists Houthis as Terrorists in Response to Red Sea Attacks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: IDF Probes Whether Houthis Used Iranian Cluster Bomb-Bearing Missile
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Israeli military said Saturday it launched a probe into the failure of its defenses to fully intercept a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi jihadists, parts of which struck not far from the Ben Gurion airport on Friday night.
According to the Ynet website, one of the hypotheses being examined is that the projectile contained cluster munitions, similar to those used by Iran to fire at Israeli cities during the 12-day war in June. Cluster munitions pose a challenge to interceptors as they disperse smaller explosives over a wide area.
In June, Iran fired several missiles carrying scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties.
The IDF said on Saturday that its initial review suggests the ballistic missile from Yemen likely fragmented in mid-air. Five interceptors from various systems engaged with the missile, including THAAD, Arrow, David Sling & Iron Dome.
Authorities said that shrapnel impacted a house in the central Israeli moshav of Ginaton, yet no one was hurt, with the fragment landing in the house’s backyard.
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Iran Forces Kill Six Militants, IRNA Reports, Israel Link Seen
The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iranian security forces shot dead six militants in a clash in southeastern Iran on Saturday, a day after armed rebels killed five police officers in the restive region, the official news agency IRNA reported.
IRNA said evidence showed the group was linked to Israel and may have been trained by Israel‘s Mossad spy agency. There was no immediate Israeli reaction to the allegation.
Another two members of the militant group were arrested, the report said. All but one of the militants were foreign, it added, without giving their nationality.
Iranian police said this month they had arrested as many as 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Iran’s southeast has been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separatists who say they are fighting for greater rights and autonomy.
Tehran says some of them have ties to foreign powers and are involved in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.
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Benny Gantz Urges Time-Limited National Unity Government to Further Chances of Hostage Deal
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz attends his party’s meeting at the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition politicians to form a temporary national unity government to further the chances of bringing home the hostages held in Gaza.
Addressing Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman, Gantz said that the proposed government’s two supreme priorities would be the release of Israeli hostages held by the jihadists of Hamas and instituting universal conscription in Israel by ending the exemption from military service enjoyed by the ultra-Orthodox.
Upon attainment of the goals, the government would dissolve and call an election.
“The government’s term will begin with a hostage deal that brings everyone home,” Gantz said in a video address. “Within weeks, we will formulate an enlistment outline that would see our ultra-Orthodox brethren drafted to the military and ease the burden on those already serving. Finally, we will announce an agreed-upon election date in the spring of 2026 and pass a law to dissolve the Knesset [Israeli parliament] accordingly. This is what’s right for Israel.”