Commitment to support Saudi Arabia
The first of these indications came through the assertion of US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that Washington is committed to supporting Saudi Arabia in defending its people and lands from Houthi militia attacks.
Sullivan’s speech came during his condemnation of the Houthi terrorist attack on the Saudi city of Abha, Thursday, which resulted in injuries among civilians, including workers and travelers.
The US National Security Adviser added that the United States strongly condemns the Houthi launch of a drone towards Saudi Abha Airport, stressing his country’s commitment to supporting Riyadh in the face of militia attacks.
White House meeting
The second indication of the Biden administration’s efforts to re-list the Houthis on the lists of terrorism came when the White House held a meeting with the participation of several US agencies and agencies to discuss the possibility of reclassifying the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, according to the American “Axios” website.
During the meeting, the White House National Security Council seemed more open to reclassifying the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization, while the US State Department supports targeting militia leaders with severe sanctions.
Prior to this meeting, a spokesman for the US National Security Council said, “Biden has already said that reclassification of the Houthis as a terrorist organization is under consideration.”
As for the US State Department spokesman, Ned Price, stresses that “the US President’s administration will not hesitate to use sanctions and designations against Houthi leaders or entities involved in attacks against civilians or committing human rights violations.”
Including militias on terrorist lists will limit Iranian financial and military support for the putschists, which will disrupt their ability to finance and end the war, and thus end the 7-year war, according to observers.
Here, the Yemeni politician, Mujib al-Maqtari, says that designating al-Houthi a terrorist organization will isolate these militias and stifle their foreign funds and Iranian support; Because US federal laws allow the prosecution of any person and the imposition of sanctions on any party suspected of providing support to this terrorist organization.
He added to “Sky News Arabia”, that the crimes committed by the Houthis continuously since the coup in late 2014 amount to crimes of international terrorism, including the recruitment of children and targeting civilian facilities and civilians with ballistic missiles.
And he added, “Categorizing the Houthi militia as a terrorist group will paralyze its movements and will freeze internal support or local financiers as well, and will put all groups and individuals who support them under sanctions by freezing assets and property.”
Biden and King Salman talks
The third of these indicators is revealed in US President Joe Biden’s assertion, on Wednesday evening, of his country’s commitment to supporting Saudi Arabia in defending its people and lands from Houthi militia attacks.
“Washington is committed to supporting Saudi Arabia in defending its people and lands from these attacks, and fully supporting the United Nations-led efforts to end the war in Yemen,” Biden said, during a telephone conversation with the Saudi monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The US president also indicated his commitment to ensuring that Iran could not obtain a nuclear weapon.
proactive steps
Washington had begun preemptive strikes against the expected decision, as it announced on December 10 the classification of the Iranian delegate to the militia, Hassan Erlo, on the terrorist list, before deciding to classify 5 of the most prominent Houthi security leaders who committed the most heinous human rights violations since the invasion of Sanaa on terrorist lists.
As for the fourth of these indicators, which is a prelude to the imminent issuance of the decision to classify the Houthis on the terrorist lists, Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader in the US Senate, confirmed that removing the Houthi militia from the terrorist list led to an increase in their attacks.
He added that the failure to respond forcefully to the Iranian-backed attacks against US forces in the region, increased the risks to the Americans.
It was also summarized in the speech of the commander of the US Central Command, General Frank McKenzie, when he attributed the continuation of the war in Yemen for more than 7 years to Iran’s support for the Houthis.
McKenzie confirms that the Houthi militias are employing very recklessly and recklessly the weapons capabilities they obtain from Iran, without any regard for civilian casualties.
Ihab Abbas, a specialist in American affairs and international relations, told Sky News Arabia, “Iran is behind these crimes by providing the Houthis with logistical support and advanced weapons that allow them to attack neighboring countries, hoping to implement the ideology of evil.”
He adds, “Deleting the name of the Houthi militia from the list of terrorist organizations was a mistake, and now the Biden administration must re-list them again.”
Abbas notes that re-listing the militias on the lists of terrorism “has become an absolute necessity after the escalation of the terrorism of the evil alliance between Al-Houthi and Iran, and the state of international inaction towards crimes inside Yemen made the militias escalate their terrorism.”
