Riyadh (South24)

The Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Rashad Al-Alimi on Thursday welcomed US President Donald Trump’s decision, issued on January 22, 2025, to begin the process to designate the Houthi group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), terming it as "a starting point to establishing peace and stability in Yemen and the region."

Al-Alimi said in a statement that "the Yemenis have waited a long time to achieve justice and punish the Houthi crimes that included killing, torture, random arrests, bombing homes and displacing thousands,” and expressed his thanks to President Trump for what he described as "the historic decision."

The Yemeni official stressed his government's commitment to cooperate with the US administration and the international community to ensure the implementation of the decision, while providing the necessary guarantees to continue the flow of humanitarian aid without hindrance. He stressed the need for a "global collective approach to support the Yemeni government and implement international legitimacy resolutions, especially Resolution 22161," considering that leniency with the Houthis "means the continuation of the terrorist acts of these militias".

PLC member Aidrous Al Zubaidi also welcomed the US decision to redesignate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and called for a policy of “maximum pressure”.

"Houthi actions in Yemen and against international maritime shipping are a clear act of terrorism and a violation of international law. President Trump has shown decisive leadership where others have not," Al-Zubaidi told The National.

The decision to redesignate the Houthis as FTO comes based on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's support for the Houthis, who have carried out multiple attacks since 2023 targeting US warships, besides targeting Israel with more than 300 missiles since October 2023. Since 2015, the Houthis have attacked civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. According to the White House executive order, the Houthis have launched attacks on more than 100 commercial vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait since November 2023, killing four civilian sailors and forcing several ships to change course, which has contributed to global inflation.

According to the order, the US Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of the Treasury, must submit a report within 30 days on the Houthi designation, followed by additional measures within 15 days to make a final decision on the designation. The State Department and USAID will also conduct a careful review of partners and organizations operating in Yemen to ensure that no unintended financial support is provided to the Houthis.

In the first reaction to the decision, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Hezam Al-Asad, said that "the American designation will not change our convictions regarding the Palestinian cause," and described the US as "the source of global terrorism." He added that "any negative repercussions of the decision will be borne by the Americans."

For his part, Houthi leader Nasruddin Amer said that the designation "will not have an impact and will fail as it failed before."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said: “We welcome Trump's decision to designate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization.”

The US Embassy in Yemen, in a Fact Sheet, criticized the Biden administration’s “weak policy” of reversing the previous Trump regime’s designation of the Houthis as FTO, which resulted in the Houthis attacking US warships and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

PLC member Aidrous Al-Zubaidi, who is also head of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), had during his participation in Davos' World Economic Forum (WEF) called to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization, stressing the importance of a joint strategy to destroy and contain their threats.

Al-Zubaidi said in an interview with Reuters: "Trump knows what he wants, and he is a strong decision-maker."

Before Trump's inauguration on Monday, the leader of the Houthis in Yemen, Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, said that they would limit their attacks in the Red Sea to only targeting Israeli ships after the ceasefire in Gaza begins, but added that the strikes may resume if the situation changes.

The administration of former US President Joe Biden had re-designated the Houthis as a ’Specially Designated Global Terrorist‘ (SDGT) entity in January 2024. However, this designation did not affect the group’s activity or limit its attacks over the past months.