The Biden administration has named the Yemen-based Houthi military group a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), the White House announced in a statement Wednesday.
What does the designation mean?
“This designation is an important tool to impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets, and hold them accountable for their actions,” the statement reads.
The Trump administration first named the group an SDGT in 2020, but the Biden administration removed the designation in February 2021, per CNN. This re-designation is the latest move in an escalating conflict between the U.S. and the Houthis.
The U.S. and U.K. militaries bombed several Houthi sites in Yemen on Thursday in retaliation for the group’s recent attacks on a number of international ships in the Red Sea, per The Associated Press. According to Reuters, the group claims its attacks have been in support of Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war.
President Joe Biden said in a statement the same day that the strikes were carried out as a “defensive action” following a Houthi attack on American ships Jan. 9. Biden’s statement said the strikes came after unfruitful diplomatic efforts from several countries to demand that the Houthis end their attacks on merchant and commercial vessels, which has disrupted global supply routes.
The latest U.S. action against the Houthis
U.S. military officials confirmed Tuesday the U.S. carried out a new strike against the Houthis. Reuters reports the officials said the strikes targeted four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles, which they said were intended for use against ships in the region. Houthi forces used a similar missile Monday to hit a U.S.-owned dry bulk ship, according to another report from Reuters.
The escalating tension in the region is increasing concern that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war may become a more widespread conflict, The Associated Press noted.
The AP also reported that White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan recently spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and acknowledged the possibility of increased conflict.
“We have to guard against and be vigilant against the possibility that in fact, rather than heading towards de-escalation, we are on a path of escalation that we have to manage,” Sullivan said.
However, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby clarified at the White House on Tuesday that the U.S. is not actively seeking a war, per The Associated Press.
“We’re not looking to expand this,” Kirby said. “The Houthis have a choice to make.”