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Reclassifying the Houthis as terrorists was an attempt by the US to put more pressure on the organization, but it doesn’t seem to have had the desired effect.
The Iran-backed Houthis asserted credit for an attack on an American vessel in a defiant reaction to the US decision to once again label them as “terrorist” groups.
Reclassifying the Houthis was an attempt to put more pressure on the group, but they have pledged to keep up their attacks, so it doesn’t seem to have stopped them from using force.
Declaring that the designation of the Houthis, often referred to as Ansarallah, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group would take effect in 30 days, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the announcement.
In the face of this, the Houthis did not back down and declared that they would use “a number of appropriate missiles” to target the US ship Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden.
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The Houthis used the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel and Hamas are at war, as justification for their ongoing strikes. They made it clear that they would not stop attacking ships they thought were associated with Israel or traveling to ports in occupied Palestine.
The US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, responded to the Houthi’s assertion by saying that the terrorist designation was an essential instrument to prevent terrorist funding and the group’s access to financial markets. Sullivan went on to say that if the Houthis stopped attacking in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the US would reevaluate the designation.
Applying military and diplomatic pressure, the US and Britain have been focusing on Houthi sites and pushing for an international alliance to protect shipping from rebel strikes. Airstrikes on areas under Houthi control and the removal of anti-ship missiles in Yemen are examples of recent measures.
Following the Biden administration’s 2021 reversal of the group’s terrorist designations because to concerns raised by aid organizations on the designation’s potential to impede humanitarian assistance in Yemen, the Houthis have now been reclassified.
The United States now claims that the updated classification provides more flexibility in guaranteeing civilian safety in Yemen and the distribution of humanitarian goods.
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