Foreign Minister Antony Blinken announced on Friday that he would remove Yemen’s Houthi rebels from the US list of foreign terrorist organizations next week, despite a recent attack on Saudi Arabia.
The Iran-aligned rebel group hit a Saudi airport with a drone in retaliation for the country’s involvement in Yemen’s six-year civil war, which resulted in the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Arabia supported the Yemeni government in 2015 and propagated a proxy war between the Arab nation and Iran.
COMMANDED ADMINISTRATION TO REMOVE TERRORIST INDICATION FOR YEMEN’S HOUTHI MILITIA
Blinken’s decision is a reversal of an 11-hour order by Donald Trump, issued a day before he left office on January 19 in an attempt to provide any support or arms funding to the group backed by Iran to strike, but which, according to humanitarian organizations, could exacerbate the crisis in Yemen.
“This decision is a recognition of the serious humanitarian situation in Yemen,” Blinken said on Friday. “We have heard, among other things, the warnings of the United Nations, humanitarian groups and dual members of Congress that the designations could have a devastating impact on the Yemenis’ access to basic products such as food and fuel.”
But the State Department chief has condemned the recent Houthi attacks on Saudi citizens and said Houthi leaders Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim will be among the sanction restrictions remain by the US and the United Nations.
Blinken said US security officials had ‘clear eyes’ on aggressive Houthi actions, which included ‘controlling large parts of Yemen by force and attacking US partners in the Gulf,’ [and] kidnapping and torturing United States citizens, “along with other malicious activities, such as diverting humanitarian aid.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the US decision to recall the name of terrorists, calling it a “gift to the Iranians” and saying it would “allow the Houthis to continue terrorism around the world”. ‘
THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS REMAIN MEETING IN YEMEN AMENDING GROWING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
But while Blinken promised to continue to support American allies in the Gulf, Biden said he would end all military aid to Saudi Arabia.
“This war must end, and to emphasize our commitment, we end all US support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales,” Biden said in a State Department speech in early February.
The United Nations estimates that about 24 million people – 80 percent of Yemen’s population – need humanitarian aid.
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Blinken said the US acknowledges that Houthi’s aggression continues to “prolong this conflict and cost serious humanitarian costs.” But added that the US and the United Nations have the “strong belief that there is no military solution to this conflict.”