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President Trump on Wednesday redesignated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), four years after his first administration took similar action.
In an executive order signed Wednesday, President Trump said terrorist organizations “pose a threat.”[s] The safety of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest partners in the region, and the stability of global maritime trade. ”
“With support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), which arms and trains terrorist organizations around the world, the Houthis have fired on U.S. Navy warships dozens of times since 2023,” the order said. , putting American men and women in uniform at risk.” .
President Trump also cited “multiple attacks on civilian airports in Saudi Arabia, a deadly attack on the United Arab Emirates in January 2022, and more than 300 projectiles fired toward Israel since October,” among others. , which documented “numerous” attacks carried out by the terrorist organization over the years. 2023. ”
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President Trump on Wednesday redesignated the Houthis as a terrorist organization, reversing a move by the Biden administration. (Getty Images)
“The Houthis have also attacked commercial ships passing through Bab al-Mandeb more than 100 times, killing at least four civilian sailors and forcing the rerouting of some Red Sea maritime commercial traffic, leading to global contributing to high inflation,” the order added.
The Trump administration designated the Houthis as an FTO in January 2021. The White House said in a press release Wednesday that the Biden administration immediately rescinded it.
“As a result of the Biden administration’s weak policy, the Houthis have fired dozens of shots at a U.S. Navy warship, launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure in partner countries, and attacked commercial ships passing through Bab al-Mandeb more than 100 times. ” said the white man. House said Wednesday.
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Iranian-backed Houthi rally outside Sanaa, Yemen, January 22, 2024. (AP photo, file)
“The executive order directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with other countries, to recommend the redesignation of the Houthis within 30 days.”
President Biden lifted the FTO’s designation in January 2021, but last week Biden designated the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) organization. This designation is considered a lower grade than FTO.
Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman at the time, defended the move at a press conference, arguing that although the Houthis had recently begun attacking cargo ships in the Middle East, they had been targeting commercial ships for years.
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“The Houthis were procuring military equipment long before that designation, and continued to do so for a year afterward,” Miller explained. “What’s changed is that we’ve seen them launch attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, and that hasn’t happened in 2021. And that’s why it’s important that we take this step. That’s why I decided that.
Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can send story tips to andrea.margolis@fox.com.
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