U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to re-designate Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia as a foreign terrorist organization, reviving a controversial classification.
According to a statement from Trump’s Office of Communications, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted U.S. Navy warships, attacked civilian infrastructure in allied nations, and launched over 100 assaults on commercial vessels transiting the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The executive order initiates the formal process of reclassification, which carries severe sanctions against the group.
In 2021, during the final days of Trump’s presidency, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo initially listed the Houthis as a terrorist organization. However, Pompeo’s successor, Antony Blinken, reversed the designation to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to Yemen, where a civil war has been ongoing since 2014.
Recent attacks by the Houthis on Israel and international merchant ships in support of Hamas amid the Gaza conflict prompted renewed U.S. action. In response, the U.S., Britain, and Israel have launched strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen.
The reclassification includes the group under both “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” and “Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” intensifying the sanctions attached to their activities.
Most of Yemen’s population resides in Houthi-controlled territories, highlighting the complex humanitarian implications of the decision.
