Trump moves to relabel Yemen’s Houthis as foreign terrorist organization

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday redesignated Yemen’s Houthi movement as a “foreign terrorist organization,” the White House said.

The move will impose harsher economic penalties than Joe Biden’s administration had applied to the Iran-aligned group, known formally as Ansar Allah, in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime chokepoint.

At the start of his presidential term in 2021, Biden had dropped the terrorist designation that was applied by Trump during his first term, aiming to address humanitarian concerns inside Yemen. Confronted with the Red Sea attacks, Biden last year designated the group as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” organization. But his administration held off on applying the harsher foreign terrorist organization designation.

A White House statement also cited “numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure in partner nations,” likely a reference to Houthi drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Proponents of the move say it is overdue, though some experts say it could have implications for anyone seen as assisting the Houthis, including some aid organizations.

The Houthis have launched more than 40 ballistic missiles and some 320 drones at Israel since late 2023, according to an Israel Defense Forces tally. The group has also launched more than 100 attacks on ships plying the Red Sea over the period.

Emergency services personnel inspect the rubble of a destroyed school building in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, on December 19, 2024, after the campus was struck in a missile attack from Yemen. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Most of the projectiles have been intercepted or missed their targets, but many have still caused significant damage, killing one person in Israel and wounding dozens. In the Red Sea, the group has sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers.

The attacks have rattled Israelis and disturbed global shipping, forcing many firms to reroute to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa for more than a year. The Houthis have claimed to be targeting vessels with ties to Israel, though for many of the attacked ships such ties were shaky or nonexistent.

This photo released by the European Union’s Operation Aspides naval force shows the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion burning in the Red Sea following a series of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on September 2, 2024. (European Union’s Operation Aspides via AP)

The executive order signed Wednesday directs the State Department to prepare a report within 30 days recommending that the foreign terrorist organization label be reapplied to the Houthis, after it was rescinded by former president Biden.

Within 15 days of receiving that report, new Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to sign off on the recommendation to reimpose that label on the Houthis, 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 all entities in Yemen 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,” the White House said.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree speaks during a rally against the US and Israel in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

British charity Oxfam claimed the move would worsen the suffering of Yemeni civilians, disrupting vital imports of food, medicine and fuel.

“The Trump administration is aware of these consequences but chose to move forward anyway, and will bear responsibility for the hunger and disease that will follow,” Oxfam America’s director of peace and security, Scott Paul, said in a statement.

David Schenker, who was assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs in the first Trump administration, said Trump’s move on Wednesday was an obvious, early step to respond to what he described as one of Iran’s leading proxy forces in the Middle East.

“While the redesignation likely won’t have a positive impact on the group’s behavior, the measure suggests the new administration is not looking to induce (or cajole) the Iranians to negotiations through blandishment,” Schenker told Reuters.

A demonstrator holds a rifle during a rally to denounce Israel and in solidarity with Palestinians in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, on January 17, 2025. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

The Trump administration said the US will work with regional partners to eliminate Houthi capabilities, deprive the group of resources “and thereby end its attacks on US personnel and civilians, US partners, and maritime shipping in the Red Sea.”

Under the Biden administration, the US military sought to intercept Houthi attacks to safeguard commercial traffic and waged periodic strikes to degrade Houthi military capabilities. But it did not target the group’s leadership.

The Houthis in recent days have signaled they were scaling back attacks in the Red Sea following a multi-phase ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, but would continue attacks on ships allegedly linked to Israel until the ceasefire is implemented in full.

Also on Wednesday, the group released the crew of the Galaxy Leader commercial ship more than a year after it seized the Bahamas-flagged vessel off the Yemeni coast.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.