The U.S. State Department announced today, Wednesday, the reclassification of the Houthi group in Yemen as a "Global Terrorist Organization," with the decision taking effect in 30 days. The statement indicated that during the 30 days prior to the enforcement of the decision, "the U.S. government will conduct extensive outreach with relevant parties, aid providers, and important partners to facilitate humanitarian assistance and the commercial import of essential goods into Yemen."
Thus, the U.S. administration has made this decision, reversing President Joe Biden's earlier decision at the start of his presidency to remove the Houthis from the list due to concerns about harming the prospects for peace talks and further damaging Yemen's economy amid looming famine.
Including the Houthi group on the list of terrorist organizations prevents them from accessing the global financial system, in addition to other sanctions.
However, what is the difference between classifying the Houthis as a global terrorist organization and classifying them as a foreign terrorist organization? According to a report by "Al Arabiya," the classification of the Houthis as a global terrorist organization, particularly under an executive order, is less severe than being designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department. Under the new classification, all assets of individuals or entities listed within the jurisdiction of the United States will be frozen, and U.S. persons will be prohibited from engaging in any financial or commercial transactions with them.
An American official clarified that the aim of designating the Houthis as a terrorist group is to "eliminate their funding and arming," pointing out that their attacks on U.S. military forces and international ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are a "literal definition of terrorism." The U.S. official also explained that Washington hopes this classification will compel the Houthis to distance themselves from Iran.
