The Biden administration will reportedly announce plans to redeclare the Yemen-based Houthi militants a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization amid their ongoing harassment of Red Sea shipping, according to the Associated Press, which attributed the claim to "two people familiar with the White House decision and a U.S. official."
The Houthis control a large swath of Yemeni territory along the Red Sea coast and are on of the three main factions in the ongoing Yemeni Civil War.
They have made headlines in recent months through a string of hijackings and rocket strikes that have forced American vessels to intercept projectile launches and prompted the administration to authorize strikes on their territory.
Reports emerged in December that the White House was mulling such a move. It previously delisted the Houthis in 2021, barely a month into Biden's term.
The report comes as U.S. and UK forces have conducted strikes against Houthi territory throughout the past few days.
U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan in December warned that Washington would respond to the Houthi aggression, saying "[w]e have made clear that the entire world needs to step up together — not the U.S. alone, but all of us working together — to deal with this — this emerging challenge that the — that the Houthis present, backed by Iran."
"We are going to take appropriate action in consultation with others, and we will do so at a time and place of our choosing," he continued.
Related Story: U.S. Cargo Ship Hit by Houthi Ballistic Missile, Pentagon
