Iran: US blacklisting of Yemen’s Ansarullah contravenes int’l law
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the United States for re-designating Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement as a “terrorist” organization, casting the move as “contrary to international law.”
Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Thursday that designation of the resistance movement as a “terrorist” organization is only an excuse to impose “anti-human sanctions against the Yemeni people.”
“Such arbitrary, unilateral, and baseless actions further undermine the rule of law in international relations and pose a threat to regional peace and stability,” Baqaei said.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday officially re-designated Ansarullah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), returning the movement to the same status it held at the end of his first administration.
“The Houthis’ activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade,” an order said.
The Houthis said the move targeted Yemen’s “entire population” over their support for the Palestinians.
“The US designation reflects the extent of the current administration’s bias toward the usurping Zionist entity,” a statement by the resistance movement said, referring to Israel.
Former US President Joe Biden had lifted the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation in 2021, citing the need to mitigate one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Since November 2023, the Yemeni movement has targeted dozens of Israeli-bound ships with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
They say they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.