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Houthis Redesignated a Foreign Terrorist Organization


(FILE) Footage released by Houthi Military Media released on December 19, 2024 says to show a launch of missile, which the Houthis say they fired at Israel.
(FILE) Footage released by Houthi Military Media released on December 19, 2024 says to show a launch of missile, which the Houthis say they fired at Israel.

“The Houthis’ activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade,” wrote President Trump.

Houthis Redesignated a Foreign Terrorist Organization
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President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to redesignate the Iran-backed Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, or FTO. The order reverses the 2021 directive of then-President Joe Biden, who lifted the FTO designation, originally put in place during President Trump’s first term.

The Houthis, formerly known as Ansar Allah, are supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force. Since 2023, the Houthis have dramatically increased their attacks on commercial shipping, as well as U.S. military vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, purportedly, they claim, to show support for Palestinians in the Gaza war. They have attacked commercial vessels more than 100 times, killing at least four civilian mariners. They launched multiple attacks on Saudi Arabia and on the United Arab Emirates, and they fired more than 300 missiles at Israel. They seized two cargo ships and fired at Navy warships dozens of times, endangering the lives of U.S. men and women in uniform.

In his executive order, President Trump wrote, “The Houthis’ activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade.”

In 2023, the United States formed a multinational coalition to protect maritime navigation in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks. President Trump’s response to the Houthis, as formulated in his executive order, appears more robust. “It is the policy of the United States,” Mr. Trump wrote, “to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate Ansar Allah’s capabilities and operations, deprive it of resources and thereby end its attacks on U.S. personnel and civilians, U.S. partners, and maritime shipping in the Red Sea.”

A White House fact sheet noted that after a review, “The President will direct USAID [United States Agency for International Development] to end its relationship with entities that have made payments to the Houthis, or which have opposed international efforts to counter the Houthis while turning a blind eye towards the Houthis’ terrorism and abuses.”

Designating the Houthis a Foreign Terrorist Organization makes it easier to disrupt their financial networks and foreign support – a crucial step toward ridding the region of their dangerous and destabilizing activities.

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