Pompeo: The United States will designate the Houthis in Yemen a terrorist organization

Today, Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States will classify the Houthis in Yemen as a terrorist organization, against the backdrop of a series of attacks it carried out against oil tankers in the Red Sea, last year.

Pompeo said that the State Department “will notify Congress of its intention to designate the Yemeni pro-Iranian Houthi group as a foreign terrorist organization.”

The statement added that the ministry will also include three Houthi leaders on the list of international terrorists, namely Abdul -Malik Al-Houthi, Abdul-Khaleq Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi, and Abdullah Yahya Al-Hakim.

Pompeo indicated that the US move against the Houthis would provide additional tools to counter their activity, which they are practicing with the support of Iran in the Gulf region.

The US State Department said in a statement: “Progress can be made in addressing instability in Yemen only when those responsible for obstructing peace are held accountable for their actions.”

The Houthis have represented de facto authority over governorates in northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, since September 2014.

Since 2014, Yemen has witnessed a conflict between the Iranian-backed Houthis and the Yemeni forces loyal to the government of Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which escalated in March 2015 with the intervention of Saudi Arabia at the head of a military coalition in support of the Yemeni government.د