Senate Republicans Call for Reimposing Sanctions on Houthis
Five Republican senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to re-designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, citing the Yemen-based group’s recent attacks in the region.
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“In the last two months, the Houthis have fired cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones against an array of targets, including toward U.S. naval assets in the region and cities in Israel,” the senators wrote. “The Houthis should not be allowed to continually jeopardize the lives of American service members, our regional partners and allies, and innocent civilians, without our nation calling their actions what they truly are -- terrorism."
The letter, which Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, publicly released on Dec. 14, is co-signed by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Mike Braun, R-Ind.; Roger Marshall, R-Kan.; and Marco Rubio, R-Fla. The State Department didn't respond to a request for comment on the letter.
The State Department revoked the Houthis’ terrorism designation in 2021, saying sanctions could impede Yemen’s access to humanitarian aid (see 2102100016). The Sullivan letter follows the Nov. 27 reintroduction of a bill by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to reimpose sanctions on the Houthis, also known as Ansarallah (see 2311300007).