The Biden administration Wednesday announced the designation of Houthis as a “specially designated global terrorist” group following U.S.-led attacks on Yemen’s Houthis, who have launched waves of attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea “fit the textbook definition of terrorism” in a statement announced yesterday.
“They have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized global trade, and threatened freedom of navigation,” Sullivan said. “The United States and the international community have been united in our response and in condemning these attacks in the strongest terms.”
The Biden administration had given the Houthi the designation, which applies financial sanctions.
“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,” reads the statement.
The designation will go into effect in 30 days, which Sullivan said will allow the U.S. to ensure “robust humanitarian carve outs are in place” so the actions target the Houthis, not the people of Yemen.
“The people of Yemen should not pay the price for the actions of the Houthis,” Sullivan said. “We are sending a clear message: Commercial shipments into Yemeni ports on which the Yemeni people rely for food, medicine and fuel should continue and are not covered by our sanctions.”
Last week the US and UK militaries with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands launched strikes against multiple Houthi targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, marking a significant response after the Biden administration and its allies warned that Houthis would bear the consequences of repeated drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
