As unrest continues in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with Houthi rebels targeting shipping vessels and allegedly waging a proxy war with the U.S. and Israel on behalf of Iran, a group of U.S. Senators, reintroduced a bill designating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
The FTO designation granted under the Trump administration was removed by the Biden administration in 2021..
Re-designating the Houthis as a FTO “would trigger far more effective sanctions that target third parties supplying the Houthis.” Said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who reintroduced the bill, with U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Rick Scott of Florida, as cosponsors of the bill.