US Congress: New moves to put the Houthis back on the terrorist list
New Moves Revealed by UAE Embassy in Washington DC to MPs from both Democratic and Republican parties to reclassify the Houthis as a terrorist organization.
The embassy tweeted: Bipartisan group of 17 lawmakers urges US administration to reinstate Houthis to foreign terrorist list.
It continued: The declassification was intended to help the humanitarian situation in Yemen, but the resolution did nothing but encourage the Houthis’ activities.
Republican and Democratic members addressed the letter to American President Joe Biden and published by the magazine Jewishinsider; it was presented on February 8th.
The 17 MPs are racing to get the Houthis back on the terror list amid growing fears of escalating Houthi attacks on the UAE and US forces in the Gulf.
Republican Rep. Mike Waltz and Democrat Seth Multon are leading the charge.
The two parliamentarians confirmed that there has been a significant escalation in Houthi attacks on U.S. partners and forces in the Gulf since Washington withdrew the designation of the putschists as a foreign terrorist organization.
US MPs also warned that the Houthis have diverted aid to the Yemeni people.
On Monday evening, State Department spokesman Ned Price said his country was committed to supporting the UAE in bolstering defenses against Houthi attacks.
UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef Al-Otaibi renewed the call for the US government to reclassify Al-Houthi militias as a terrorist organization.
“The UAE-US security partnership has made both countries safer”, al-Otaibi said in a press statement.
“Close air defense cooperation with Washington is crucial to protecting U.S. and Emirati personnel from recent Houthi militia attacks”, he said.
Since January, the U.S. Congress has been witnessing moves to reinstate the Houthis as a terrorist group in the wake of the putschists’ attack on Abu Dhabi.
The terrorist attack on civilian facilities in the UAE drew broad condemnation of the attack and affirmed its support for the UAE in the face of such attacks.
At 10 a.m. on 17 January, Houthi militias had targeted the Musaffah ICAD 3 area and the New Construction area at Abu Dhabi International Airport, both civilian infrastructure.
The attacks resulted in the explosion of three oil tanks, the death of three civilians, two of whom were Indian and one Pakistani, and the injury of six other civilians. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump designated the Houthi group as a terrorist group in early 2012, but the designation was reversed during the first week of the Joe Biden administration.
