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The U.S. State Department designated Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthis) once again as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group, generating a wave of denunciations from Yemen's Houthis, as well as from militant groups affiliated with the Iran-backed, Iran-led "Axis of Resistance," which includes Lebanese Hizbullah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
On January 17, 2024, the U.S. State Department issued a statement in response to Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The statement read: "These attacks against international shipping have endangered mariners, disrupted the free flow of commerce, and interfered with navigational rights and freedoms. This designation seeks to promote accountability for the group's terrorist activities. If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will reevaluate this designation."
The following are examples of reactions following the designation.
Houthi Leader: The U.S. Has A Tendency To Serve The Zionist Lobby As An Obligation That "Must Be Fulfilled"
On January 18, 2024, the leader of the Ansar Allah Houthi Movement, Abd Al-Malik Al-Houthi, delivered a televised address condemning the ongoing Western support for Israel. He said the West's support furthers the "massacre" of Palestinians, stressing that it is not permissible for the Yemeni people to stand idly by and not fight back against the injustice toward the Palestinian people.
The U.S. and U.K. supporting Israel is "anomalous" among all nations, he stated, noting that the "enemy [i.e. Israel]" had failed to achieve its goals in Gaza but that the "crimes" are continuing.
Further, he pointed out that U.S. President Biden's visit to Israel after the October 7 attack, to personally express his support for Israel, is evidence of America's "moral bankruptcy" and "dark criminal history toward various peoples."
He continued: "The political orientations of the Americans have no moral compass. The greatest motivation for them of all is their connection to Zionism. The Americans have a tendency to serve the Zionist lobby in the world, and they consider this an obligation that they must fulfill."
Houthi Foreign Ministry: U.S. Maintains Support Of Israel "Even If This Was Done At The Expense Of American Interests In The Region"
On January 17, 2024, the Houthi Foreign Affairs Ministry released a statement condemning the U.S. action whose goal, the ministry argued, is to pressure Yemen because of its "nationalistic and brave" position in rejecting Israel and supporting the Palestinian people.
It is an attempt by the Americans to "force their hegemony" upon those who do not succumb to it, said the statement, noting that the Yemeni Armed Forces' targeting of ships owned by, or affiliated with, Israel constitutes "steadfastness from which there is no backing down."
The statement continued: "Such illegal classification may increase the economic blockade that the Republic of Yemen has been suffering from since March 26, 2015, which resulted in the worst man-made humanitarian disaster known to man in our modern world, and demonstrates the lack of seriousness of American statements about its support for reaching a peaceful political settlement in Yemen."
Furthermore, "what matters to Washington is its support for the enemy Zionist entity, even if this was done at the expense of American interests in the region, and bypassing all international laws, treaties, and agreements that talk about human rights."
Supreme Political Bureau: Yemen Has Its "Own Strengths" To Make U.S. Measure "Look Like It Never Existed"
The Houthi Supreme Political Bureau denounced the State Department's decision as a measure to maintain its support for Israel so it "will continue to kill the Palestinian people without any response or harassment."
Defying the U.S. decision, the Council affirmed that Ansar Allah movement will not be deterred by the American measures in continuing to "perform its religious and moral obligation" to the Palestinian people in Gaza. Further, it pointed out that the designation will make the Yemeni people rally around the leadership, and that Yemen has its own strengths to make the U.S. measure look like "it never existed."
Houthi "Moral Guidance" Deputy Director: Same-Day Attack On Ship In Response To U.S. Measure
On the same day as the designation, January 17, 2024, Houthi Moral Guidance Department deputy director Abdallah Bin Amer wrote on his X account: "Incentives, threats, warnings, military aggression, and now designation – we have not turned back, and we will not turn back."
In a subsequent X post, following the same-day Houthi claim of responsibility for an attack against a second American ship in the Gulf of Aden, Bin Amer also wrote: "The Yemeni response to America's message (and decision) has indeed arrived."
Political Bureau Member: U.S. Measure Does Not Add Anything
Muhammad Al-Bukhaiti, Governor of Dhamar and member of the Houthi Political Bureau, wrote on his X account that the U.S. measure is "proof of bankruptcy," noting that the U.S. and Britain were already in a state of war against Yemen. He said the decision "does not add anything new."
Further, he argued that such a decision would only damage the credibility of the U.S. before the rest of the world, adding: "The terrorists are those who support and defend those who carry out crimes of genocide – not those who seek to end them."
He continued: "We are men of war, but we are also advocates of peace. This said, I call on America and Britain to stop your aggression against Palestine and Yemen, and we will stop all our military operations immediately and automatically. The ball is in your court, and you may call us whatever you want."
Lebanese Hizbullah: U.S. Administration's Measure "A Continuation Of U.S. Years-Long "Aggression" On Yemen
On January 18, Iran-backed Lebanese Hizbullah issued a statement calling the U.S. decision to designate the Houthis as a global terrorist group to be an "unjust, oppressive, and invalid" measure, which represents a continuation of the "U.S. aggression on Yemen that has been continuing for several years, up to the recent raids."
In its statement, Hizbullah asserted that the U.S. continues to be the "sponsor of Zionist terrorism and criminal aggression" against Palestinians in Gaza, saying that the attacks on Yemen and the designation of Houthis as a terrorist entity reflect the U.S.'s "criminal culture and aggressive dominance over the entire world."
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ): Designation "Will Not Weaken The Resolve Of The Brotherly People Of Yemen"
Following the U.S. Department of State's announcement, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) released a statement on January 17, denouncing the measure and accusing the Biden administration of "carrying out the crimes" committed in the Gaza Strip.
In its statement, the PIJ asserted that the U.S. measure seeks to inflict "collective punishment" on the Yemeni people for their support of Palestinians in Gaza, noting that it is unlikely that the U.S. action will "weaken the resolve of the brotherly people of Yemen."
The Palestinian group further argued that the designation of Houthis as a terrorist group demonstrates the U.S. "hegemony," "tyranny," and "acts of terrorism" to subjugate peoples and to situate itself in a position to classify others according to its own interests.
Hamas: U.S. Administration Continues To Identify With Israel's "Expansionist Agenda In Palestine And The Region"
Following in the footsteps of the PIJ, Hamas also issued a statement condemning Washington's designation of Yemen's Houthis as a global terrorist entity, calling it a political move, demonstrating "blatant favoritism" towards Israel, and an "overt attempt" to provide it with cover to "carry on its brutal aggression and genocide it is committing against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."
The statement also pointed out that the "immoral" measure proves, once again, the Biden Administration's ongoing identification with Israel's "occupational, expansionist agenda in Palestine and the region."
It further contended that the U.S. policies will not deter the Arab and free peoples' solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just cause, "until the occupation ends, and the aspirations of the Palestinian people for freedom and self-determination are achieved."
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