“As noted by the designated secretary (Antony) Blinken, the State Department has begun a review of Ansarallah’s terror instructions,” the spokesman said.
Blinken, President Joe Biden’s choice as Secretary of State, said during his nomination hearing on Tuesday that his “deep concern about the nomination made is that it appears to have accomplished nothing practical to stop the efforts against the Houthis and to bring them back to the negotiating table, while it becomes even more difficult than it already is to provide humanitarian aid to people in dire need. ‘
The designation of the foreign terrorist organization has been quickly condemned by humanitarian organizations, diplomats and dual members of Congress who fear it could further inflame the situation on the ground, increase UN peace talks and exacerbate the country’s humanitarian crisis.
The State Department spokesman told CNN that they would not discuss or comment on internal discussions about the review in public.
“However, with the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, we are working as fast as we can to carry out the review and make a decision,” they said.
Yemen is embroiled in a long-running civil war that backed a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, a Shiite political and military organization from northern Yemen. The conflict cost thousands of civilian lives and plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis.
The State Department spokesman said they “strongly believe that Ansarallah” – another name for the Houthis – “should change his behavior”, adding that it “bears significant responsibility for the humanitarian catastrophe and insecurity in Yemen”.
“At the same time, we must also ensure that we do not hinder the provision of humanitarian aid,” they said.
Pompeo said in a statement that the designation announced that the United States “intends to put in place measures to reduce its impact on certain humanitarian activities and imports into Yemen.”
“We have expressed our willingness to work with relevant United Nations officials, international and non-governmental organizations and other international donors to address these implications,” he said.
However, humanitarian organizations and legislators have expressed serious concern that the measures would not be adequate.
Tjada D’Oyen, chief executive of Mercy Corps, said the designation of the Trump administration by the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization would “undermine the subject of humanitarian response in Yemen, affecting the lives of millions of Yemenis seeking humanitarian aid” trust, threaten. ‘
The head of the International Rescue Committee calls the decision ‘pure diplomatic vandalism’.
“This policy, in the name of tying up the Houthis, will in fact bind the aid community and international diplomacy. The opposite is necessary – effective pressure on all parties to the conflict to stop using civilians as hostages in their war games. , “David Miliband said.
The spokesman said the US “would support the efforts of UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths to bring the parties to political consensus.”
“Our focus is on supporting a comprehensive political agreement that will end the conflict and resolve the serious humanitarian situation,” they said.
At his nomination hearing on Tuesday, Blinken told lawmakers that Biden’s government intended to end its support for the Saudi – led campaign in Yemen.
“The president-elect has made it clear that we will end our support for the military campaign led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen. And I think we will work on that very briefly once the president-elect is president for the reasons you mentioned,” Said Blinken.
Asked what the end of support looks like, the nominee for the US top diplomat said: ‘It seems first of all to make sure we understand exactly what support we are currently offering and what we need to look at, and pull then the support back. “
“But I want to make it clear, I think we need to be in close contact with Saudi Arabia, with our partner there. We need to be very clear about what we are doing, why we are doing something and going through it,” Blinken said. . . “But the most important point is that for reasons we have discussed, we believe that it is not in the national interest to continue with the support.”