The US is to once again consider Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels a terrorist group, US media reported on Tuesday, after previously dropping the classification in 2021.
The designation, expected yesterday, of the Houthis as a “specially designated global terrorist” entity comes amid attacks by the group on shipping and military vessels in the Red Sea.
On Tuesday, the US military said that it struck Yemen to destroy four anti-ship missiles “prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas,” and which “presented an imminent threat to ... merchant and US Navy ships in the region.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
It is at least the third time in less than a week that the US has carried out strikes against the group, which has repeatedly taken aim at merchant vessels in the Red Sea shipping lane — attacks that the rebels say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling militant group Hamas.
The US military also said that the Houthis on Tuesday launched an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes and that a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier reported that it was hit, but remained seaworthy.
The US and Britain targeted nearly 30 sites in Yemen with more than 150 munitions last week, while US forces later attacked a Houthi radar site in what was described as “a follow-on action” related to the previous strikes.
The US last month set up a multinational naval task force to protect Red Sea shipping from the Houthis, with the group’s actions endangering a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade.
The Houthis say they have been targeting Israeli-linked vessels, but Washington says dozens of countries have connections to ships that have been attacked.
Washington had previously designated the Houthis as a terrorist group in January 2021 during the administration of then-US president Donald Trump — a move that was reversed the following month by US President Joe Biden.
The original designation caused outcry from those who said it would complicate the humanitarian response in the country, battered by civil war and much of which is controlled by the Houthis.
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