President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday directing the US Secretary of State to re-designate the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, as a foreign terrorist organisation within the next 30 days.
The move would reinstate the designation, which Trump first confirmed during the final days of his first term, after the Biden administration reversed the decision in early 2021,
“Within one month of taking office, the Biden administration reversed the Houthis’ designation,” a new White House handout said.
“As a result of the Biden administration’s weak policy, the Houthis have fired at US Navy warships dozens of times, launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure in partner nations and attacked commercial vessels transiting” between Yemen and the Horn of Africa “more than 100 times,” it added.
“Under President Trump, it is now the policy of the United States to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate the Houthis’ capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources and thereby end their attacks on US personnel and civilians, US partners and maritime shipping in the Red Sea.”
In the order, Trump highlighted: “The Houthis, which are supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, have fired at US Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform.”
Trump also referenced the group’s broader role in destabilising the region: “Since seizing most Yemeni population centres by force from the legitimate Yemeni government in 2014-15, the Houthis have launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure, including multiple attacks on civilian airports in Saudi Arabia, the deadly January 2022 attacks on the United Arab Emirates and more than 300 projectiles fired at Israel since October 2023.”
“The Houthis have also attacked commercial vessels transiting Bab al-Mandeb more than 100 times, killing at least four civilian sailors and forcing some Red Sea maritime commercial traffic to reroute, which has contributed to global inflation,” Trump continued.
If Congress doesn’t block the designation during a seven-day waiting period, then the group is placed on the Federal Register – a status which, barring any legal challenges, will be confirmed after 30 days.
The new executive order calls for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator and the Secretary of State to “jointly review United Nations partners, nongovernmental organisations and contractors operating in Yemen” following the redesignation.
The decision has been met warmly by defence hawks in Congress.
“Thank you, President Trump,” wrote Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC). “They should never have been removed in the first place. Designating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organisation sends a powerful message that America views this group as a clear threat to our allies and partners and to regional stability in the Middle East.”
Jewish organisations also welcomes the move, with the Republican Jewish Coalition saying: “Promises made, promises kept. Thank you President Trump for correcting the disastrously wrong-headed decision by the Biden administration to de-list the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organisation.”
