The United States on Tuesday designated Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia a foreign terrorist organization, conforming with an order by President Donald Trump in January.

The Houthis control much of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, and have launched missile and drone attacks at Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023.

They have also repeatedly targeted merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden – waterways vital to global trade.

“Today’s action taken by the State Department demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to protecting our national security interests, the safety of the American people, and the security of the United States,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Trump signed an executive order in late January to return the Houthis to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), where he placed them during his first term.

The redesignation means that anyone who engages or works with the Houthis, whose territory is home to most of Yemen’s population, will risk being prosecuted by the United States.

Former president Joe Biden removed the Houthis from the list after humanitarian groups protested that they could not get aid to Yemen’s needy without dealing with the militia.

Already the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country before the war broke out a decade ago, Yemen is now suffering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with about two-thirds of its 34 million people in need of aid.

With AFP