The United States has formally redesignated Yemen’s Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), according to an announcement by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday.
The move reinstates sanctions and penalties on those who provide material support to the Iran-backed group, which has launched multiple attacks on commercial and military targets in the Red Sea.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have launched over 100 missile and drone attacks on merchant vessels associated with the United States and its allies.
Rubio emphasized that the U.S. “will not tolerate any country engaging with terrorist organizations like the Houthis in the name of legitimate international business.”
The redesignation aligns with a policy shift under President Donald Trump, who had initially labeled the group as an FTO in the final days of his first term. President Joe Biden later reversed the designation in 2021, citing concerns that it would block humanitarian aid to Yemen, which has been devastated by years of war.
The announcement comes days after Houthi forces in Yemen fired surface-to-air missiles (SAM) at a U.S. F-16 fighter jet and an MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Red Sea. U.S. defense officials said this is the first known instance of the Houthis targeting an American fighter jet with a SAM missile.
The Yemeni Armed Forces (Houthis) has released footage of downing a U.S. MQ-9 “Reaper” Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) over Al Hudaydah Governorate, possibly using an Iran-made 358 Loitering Surface-to-Air Missile. pic.twitter.com/4V1haDjGQc
— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) March 4, 2025
In response to the recent Houthi strike, the Trump administration has eased restrictions on U.S. military commanders, giving them greater autonomy for airstrikes and special operations. Signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the revised directive also expands the range of individuals who can be targeted and reduces the executive branch’s role in approving military operations.
