The leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels vowed to continue targeting ships in the Red Sea.
Abdul Malik Al-Houthi's comments came as opponents of the His group , inside and outside of Yemen, applauded the US decision and called for harsher sanctions and penalties to be imposed on the group.
The Biden administration on Wednesday confirmed the re-designation of the Houthi rebels organization (Ansar Allah) as a foreign terrorist group, in an attempt to put pressure on them to halt their attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The classification of the group as Specially Designated Global Terrorist gives the US the power to severely penalize the militia by cutting off its funding and weapons supplies and reducing its capacity to damage the security of international commerce. US President Joe Biden removed the Houthis from the list in early 2021 to make it easier to provide aid amid concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government and other opponents and critics of the Houthis welcomed the re-designation of the group as terrorists and urged other nations to follow Washington’s example.
Yemeni human rights campaigners, journalists and politicians forced to flee their country for fear of Houthi reprisals similarly applauded the US reclassification of the group as terrorists.