Posted on 01/22/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order designating Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
“Supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), which arms and trains terrorist organizations worldwide, the Houthis have fired at US Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform,” Trump’s order reads.
“Since seizing most Yemeni population centers by force from the legitimate Yemeni government in 2014-2015, the Houthis have launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure, including multiple attacks on civilian airports in Saudi Arabia, the deadly January 2022 attacks on the United Arab Emirates, and more than 300 projectiles fired at Israel since October 2023.”
“The Houthis have also attacked commercial vessels transiting Bab al-Mandeb more than 100 times, killing at least four civilian sailors and forcing some Red Sea maritime commercial traffic to reroute, which has contributed to global inflation.”
The order noted, “The Houthis’ activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade.”
In his first term, Trump designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization days before he left office in 2021.
However, then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reversed the decision days later, saying the move was driven by concerns that the designation could imperil the ability to deliver crucial assistance to the people of Yemen.
The Houthi rebels have upped their attacks in the region since October of 2023, having launched drones towards Israel and targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea region in support for Gazans.
In the wake of the uptick in Houthi attacks, the US formed a coalition, made up of more than 20 countries, aimed at safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthis.