Feb 6, 2021, 8:51 AM

US may revoke terrorist designation for Yemen's Houthis

US may revoke terrorist designation for Yemen's Houthis

TEHRAN, Feb. 06 (MNA) – The State Department has informed Congress of its intent to reverse the Trump administration's eleventh-hour decision to designate Yemen's Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization, a State Department official said.

"After a comprehensive review, we can confirm that the secretary intends to revoke the foreign terrorist organization and specially designated global terrorist designations of Ansarallah," the official said, using another name for the Houthis, Reuters reported. "We have formally notified Congress of the secretary's intent to revoke these designations and will share more details in the coming days." 

Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the Trump administration's decision less than two weeks before leaving office, with the designation going into effect just a day before President Joe Biden's inauguration. 

Sen. Chris Murphy, a longtime critic of the Saudi campaign in Yemen, praised the administration's move to rescind the designation.

"The Biden administration's decision to reverse the Houthi FTO designation is another signal of their commitment to end the war in Yemen," the Connecticut Democrat said in a statement Friday.

US President Joe Biden's administration is moving to revoke the designation of Yemen's Houthis as a terrorist group, citing the need to mitigate one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.

ZZ/PR

News ID 169544

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