Reports: US to Name Houthis as Terrorist Organization

Many reports expressed Trump Administration's will to name the Yemeni Iran-backed wing Houthis as a terrorist organization according to a report published by Foreign Policy.

The move is supposed to be done before Trump leaving the White House after losing the presidential elections to Joe Biden.

The Foreign Policy added, "the move will disrupt international aid efforts and upend United Nations-brokered peace efforts between the Shiite movement and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, according to several diplomatic sources."

“It is a mistake. This is an inflammatory move from Secretary of State Pompeo and the Trump administration to take,” said Gregory Johnsen, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution. “It would basically box in the new president when he wants to take a new approach to the war in Yemen and cut back on the Saudi war.”

Many international agencies and parties attempted to "dissuade" the Trump administration from classifying the Houthis as a terrorist organization.

In addition, Germany and Sweden have also tried to stop this decision by pressing the US. However, the US has prepared the grounds for the US to list the Houthis on its list.

The report explained that this step is considered as a victory of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his "anti-Iran" strategy.

Moreover, the Trump administration aims to create extra pressure on Iran and its allies in the Middle East before the end of Trump's term.

In the same context, the US intends to impose a flood of new sanctions on Iran and its backers before Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration, according to a report in Axios.