U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday his administration is considering re-designating Yemen’s Houthi movement as an international terrorist organization following persistent drone attacks on civilians in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
His comment at a press conference came shortly after the group claimed an attack by the group that killed three people at Abu Dhabi airport and a fuel depot.
According to Reuters, when asked if he supported returning the Iran-aligned Houthis to the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations, from which they were removed nearly a year ago, Biden replied, “The answer is, it’s under consideration.”
Saudi Arabia suffered over 300 cross-border attacks from the Iran-backed Houthi groups in Yemen in the last year alone.
Earlier this month, Forces of Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government in Yemen reclaimed the entire southern province of Shabwa from Iran-backed Houthi rebels, a shift in momentum in the war.
The Biden administration made concluding the war in Yemen a priority, but in the first year of his administration, diplomats have encountered a Houthi group unwilling to compromise. The United States in June blamed Iran-aligned Houthis for the failure of a ceasefire to take hold in Yemen and accused them of not taking other steps toward ending the brutal conflict.
