President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday re-designating the Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) after former President Joe Biden removed them from the list.
The move comes after the Iranian-backed Islamic terrorist group, which is based in Yemen, has launched well over a hundred attacks on international cargo ships, tankers, and naval vessels since Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack against Israel.
The White House said that under the new administration, it was 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 U.S. personnel and civilians, U.S. partners, and maritime shipping in the Red Sea.”
Trump also directed the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Secretary of State to jointly review United Nations partners, nongovernmental organizations, and contractors operating in Yemen.
Any 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, will be cut off from U.S. funding.
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National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said that Trump’s actions were a reversal on the Biden administration’s “horrible decision to remove the Houthi designation as a foreign terrorist organization.”
“The Houthis are terrorists who have for months launched attacks against the U.S. Navy, international shipping, and Israel,” he posted on X. “Enough!”
Today, President Trump reversed the Biden Administration’s horrible decision to remove the Houthi designation as a foreign terrorist organization.
The Houthis are terrorists who have for months launched attacks against the U.S. Navy, international shipping, and Israel. Enough!
— Mike Waltz (@MikeWaltz47) January 22, 2025
