Foreign Policy: The Trump administration will designate the Houthis a terrorist organization before January ... and Griffiths is appealing
News of the news - private translation: 7 hours and 45 minutes ago
Share Tweet Submit
The Trump administration is preparing to designate the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen as a terrorist organization before leaving office in January, several diplomatic sources told Foreign Policy.
The United Nations and international aid agencies have tried to dissuade the Trump administration from designating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, but the seemingly imminent decision will give US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo another victory in his anti-Iran strategy during his visit to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE this week.
A diplomatic source said: "The US administration has been thinking about it for a while, but Pompeo wants this fast track."
In recent weeks, the United Nations special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, has been appealing to the United States to revoke the Houthi classification and appealing to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to intervene with Pompeo, according to diplomatic sources.
Last month, Guterres urged Kelly Craft, the US ambassador to the United Nations, to reconsider plans to include the Houthis on the terrorist organization list. Germany and Sweden also pressed the United States to back down. But the effort appeared to falter. According to American magazine sources. The magazine considered that this move is part of a broader effort by the White House and Pompeo to increase pressure on Iran and its allies in the Middle East in the administration's final months, a development likely to complicate President-elect Joe Biden's efforts to reopen talks with Iran over its nuclear program.
During his presidential campaign, Biden pledged to join the Iran nuclear deal that the Obama administration negotiated in 2015, but which Trump abandoned two years ago.
US officials and other people familiar with the matter said the Trump administration could also designate Houthi leaders as global terrorists.
The United States has expressed concern about the Houthis' increasing dependence on Iran, which has provided them with missiles, drones and training, allowing the Houthis to target airports and other vital infrastructure.
The move to designate the Houthis a terrorist organization comes a year after the Trump administration designated the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization.
Depending on what the classification looks like, the Treasury Department, which oversees the implementation of the sanctions, could issue licenses to issue exemptions for humanitarian organizations to deliver food, medical supplies, and other life-saving aid to Yemen.
PSA Price at posting:
2.1¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
