U.S. to Review Houthi Terrorist Designation

On Friday, the US State Department announced that it will review the decision to designate Yemen’s Houthi movement as a "terrorist group" as soon as possible.

"The State Department has initiated a review of Ansarallah’s terrorist designations,” the State Department spokesperson said, adding," We are working as fast as we can to conduct the review and make a determination."

Last week, US President Joe Biden's candidate for Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken said that Washington would take a look at the designation.

Earlier this month, Washington announced its decision to designate the rebel Houthi militia in Yemen as a “terrorist group.”.

In a statement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that this move “aims to hold the Houthis accountable for their terrorist acts, including cross-border attacks that threaten the civilian population, infrastructure, and commercial shipping.”

“I also intend to designate three of Ansar Allah’s leaders, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists”, Pompeo added.

Moreover, he noted that The Department of State would notify Congress of its intention to designate the pro-Iranian group as a “foreign terrorist organization.”