The President of the United States, Donald Trump, signed an order to reclassify the Houthi militant group in Yemen as a terrorist organization, nearly four years after the Biden administration revoked that designation. Since then, the Houthis, aligned with Iran, have conducted numerous missile and drone attacks against vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and have also fired at Israel on several occasions.
President Joe Biden revoked the classification in 2021 due to the risk of famine in Yemen, which has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014. In January 2024, the Biden administration re-included the Yemeni Houthis on the list of "specially designated global terrorist" groups, a less stringent designation than "foreign terrorist organization," thereby allowing the group to participate in UN-backed peace talks.
The Houthis, originally from northern Yemen, rebelled against the UN-recognized government in 2014 and captured the capital, Sana'a. Trump has urged the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to investigate organizations and contractors operating in Yemen and to end any relationships with entities that have supported the Houthis or opposed international efforts against them.
The terrorism designation was applied at the end of Trump's first term in response to Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza. Houthi attacks have disrupted maritime trade in the Middle East, despite offensives by the U.S., the UK, and Israel against Houthi targets.
The White House justified Trump's decision by stating that the Biden administration's policy had allowed multiple attacks by the Yemeni Houthis. The Houthis announced a truce regarding U.S. and British vessels in the Red Sea in response to a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as well as releasing the crew of a commercial vessel hijacked over a year ago, including two Mexicans.
Trump's executive order requires that the Secretary of State recommend the reclassification of the Houthis within 30 days, while a coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in the conflict on the side of the Yemeni government.
