MUSCAT: The United States has expressed a willingness to reconsider its recent designation of Yemen’s Houthi rebels as terrorists if they cease their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea region.
Tim Lenderking, President Joe Biden’s special envoy for Yemen, emphasized the importance of diplomatic solutions during an online press briefing.
Lenderking highlighted the need for diplomatic off-ramps to deescalate tensions and ultimately revoke the Houthi designation. The US has been engaged in airstrikes targeting Houthi military facilities for nearly three months, aiming to curb the group’s missile and drone attacks on merchant vessels and warships. While these efforts have degraded Houthi capabilities, the attacks on shipping persist.
In response to queries about offering the Houthis a quid pro quo to halt their attacks in exchange for revoking the terrorist designation, Lenderking indicated that such considerations would be studied but not assumed as automatic.
The decision to designate Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Terrorist Group was announced by the US State Department in mid-January. This action followed joint US-UK strikes launched in response to the Houthi attacks on shipping.
The Houthis began targeting ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in mid-November, ostensibly to pressure Israel amid the conflict with Hamas in Gaza. This has led most Western shipping firms to avoid these critical waterways, diverting traffic around the southern tip of Africa instead.
Lenderking, speaking from Muscat, Oman, engaged with Omani officials and stressed the importance of Houthi deescalation to renew peace efforts in Yemen. He specifically referenced the hijacking of the Galaxy Leader ship in November and emphasized that Houthi deescalation could pave the way for restarting UN-mediated peace talks in Yemen.
The conflict in Yemen has endured for a decade, with a fragile truce in place since 2022. The Houthis gained control of Sanaa in 2014 and now hold the strategic Red Sea port of Hodeida.
