Trump moves to reimpose foreign terror designation on Yemen’s Houthis

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

A Houthi supporter raises his dagger during an anti-US and Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, January 17, 2025, as fellow backers of the Iran-backed rebel group hold up banners with its slogan. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
A Houthi supporter raises his dagger during an anti-US and Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, January 17, 2025, as fellow backers of the Iran-backed rebel group hold up banners with its slogan. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

US President Donald Trump moves to reimpose the designation of the Iran-backed Houthi rebel movement in Yemen as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Trump’s first administration designated the Houthis as a FTO, but the move was reversed by former US president Joe Biden due to concerns that the highest-level sanction was preventing aid organizations from delivering humanitarian assistance to civilians in Yemen.

Toward the end of his term, Biden did reapply a lower level terror designation of the Houthis after the rebel group began a campaign of missile attacks on Israel and on Red Sea shipping routes, which severely hampered the global economy. The Houthis claimed they took the step in solidarity with Palestinians following Hamas’s October 2023 attack and pledged to maintain their attacks until Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza.

On Wednesday, Trump signs an executive order that directs the State Department to prepare a report within 30 days recommending that the FTO label be reapplied to the Houthis. Within 15 days of receipt of that report, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to sign off on the recommendation to again designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terror Organization, the executive order states.

Once the designation has been reapplied, the executive order stipulates that the US Agency for International Development and the State Department sever ties with any entity in Yemen that has made payments to the Houthis or has worked against international efforts to combat the rebel group.

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