Trump decides to designate Ansar Allah (the Houthis) as "foreign terrorist organization"

(MENAFN) On Wednesday evening, the White House announced that U.S. President Donald Trump had decided to designate Ansar Allah (the Houthis) as a "foreign terrorist organization." The White House cited the Houthis' activities as posing a threat to U.S. citizens and personnel in the Middle East, endangering key regional partners, and destabilizing global maritime trade.

The statement emphasized that the Houthis have launched over 300 projectiles into Israel since October 2023 and that their attacks on international shipping have contributed to global inflation. The administration also declared that it would work with regional partners to weaken the Houthis’ operations and cut off their resources to end the attacks. USAID will sever ties with any entities that have made payments supporting the group.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have been attacking Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea with rockets and drones and targeting locations in Palestine as part of their support for Gaza, which is under Israeli military aggression. In response, Washington and London have carried out airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen. The group has since declared U.S. and British military assets as targets, expanding its attacks to ships in the Arabian Sea and other areas within reach of their weapons. Meanwhile, Israel has bombed several targets in Yemen, particularly in Sana’a, and has threatened to pursue the group's leadership.

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