Officially.. The United States returns the Houthi militias to the list of foreign terrorist organizations

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington has officially re-designated the Houthi group in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization.

Rubio said in a written statement Tuesday that Washington has taken formal steps consistent with the presidential order previously signed by President Donald Trump.

“Today, the State Department is fulfilling one of the promises President Trump made since taking office, and I am pleased to announce that the Department has designated Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” the statement said.

“Houthi activities pose a threat to the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, and jeopardize the safety of our closest regional partners and the stability of global maritime commerce,” he added, according to President Trump’s Executive Order 14175.

The statement indicated that since 2023, the Houthis have carried out hundreds of attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, in addition to targeting US forces defending freedom of navigation and regional partners.

Washington pointed out that the group refrained from targeting ships flying the Chinese flag, while targeting American and allied ships, stressing that it "will not tolerate any country dealing with terrorist organizations such as the Houthis under the cover of legitimate commercial activities."

She stressed that this step "reflects the Trump administration's commitment to protecting American security interests and the safety of citizens, and also contributes to reducing the support received by terrorist groups."

The US State Department's Rewards for Justice Program has announced that it will pay up to $15 million for information leading to the disruption of Houthi financing.

Help us cut off funding to these Iranian-backed armed terrorists who have launched attacks against American personnel, allies, and naval vessels in the Middle East.

If you have information on Houthi financial networks, contact us. You could be eligible for a reward and move on pic.twitter.com/UhhaD0s95k

- Rewards for Justice Arabic (@Rewards4Justice) March 4, 2025

Under a presidential decree, Trump decided on January 23 to re-list the Houthis as a "terrorist organization" after the administration of former President Joe Biden removed them from the list.

On February 16, 2021, former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Biden administration had decided to remove Ansar Allah from the list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Blinken indicated at the time that this decision was taken due to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Yemen.

The Houthis were added to the list of foreign terrorist organizations in the final days of Donald Trump's first administration (2017-2021).

Source: Agencies