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full screen Supporters of the Houthi movement demonstrate in the capital Sanaa. The picture was taken on January 17. Photo: Osamah Abdulrahman
Donald Trump has reclassified the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen as an “international terrorist organization” via a presidential order, the White House announced.
When Joe Biden took office in 2021, he removed this classification for the Houthi movement, which Trump had issued at the end of his previous term.
Biden’s decision came after aid organizations warned that as a result of the terror classification, they would have to withdraw from Yemen, because in their work they have to work with the movement, which controls large parts of the country including the capital Sanaa.
When the war in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, the Iran-backed group began attacking ships in the Red Sea, prompting the White House to reinstate them on its terror list. However, with a milder classification, which allowed the aid organizations to continue their work in the severely war-torn country.
But now Trump has tightened the classification, which may take weeks before it comes into effect.