US could remove Houthis from terror list in exchange for Red Sea quiet - report

The United States is open to removing the Ansar Allah movement, more commonly known as the Houthis, from its list of designated terrorist organizations if the Iranian-backed jihadist group ceases its attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. 

The Houthis are currently holding captive the 25 crew members of the Japanese cargo ship the Galaxy Leader, which the group hijacked in November. 

Tim Lenderking, the United States special envoy for Yemen, said to reporters on Wednesday that releasing the sailors would "show good faith" and an "intent to de-escalate" on the part of the Houthis, according to Bloomberg News.

"My hope," Lenderking is quoted as saying, "is that we can find diplomatic off-ramps." The envoy also reportedly said that the United States "would certainly study" removing the Houthis from its list of designated terror organizations, "but not assume it's an automatic thing." 

The comment is in line with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement in November upon re-designating the Houthis as a terrorist organization. "This designation seeks to promote accountability for the group's terrorist activities," Blinken said at the time. "If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and [the] Gulf of Aden, the United States will reevaluate this designation."

Biden administration removed Houthi terror listing

Then-US president Donald Trump originally designated the Houthis a terrorist organization in January 2021, in one of his last acts in office. The Biden administration later reversed this decision, citing the designation's likely exacerbating effect on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

In Yemen, tens of thousands— 50,000 children in 2017,  according to an estimate by Save the Children— have died of extreme hunger or disease as a consequence of the war. 

Israel designated the Houthis a terrorist group on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

The Houthis, which have been at war with Yemen's internationally recognized government for a decade, launched a campaign of attacks on merchant ships following the outbreak of war upon Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel. 

Throughout the campaign, which has included drone and missile attacks as well as hijackings and hostage-taking, the Houthis have killed three sailors, one of whom was Vietnamese and the other two Filipino, and wounded eleven more, six of whom were Egyptian and five of whom were Filipino. 

The United States, United Kingdom, and allies launched a military campaign, dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, in December 2023 to protect shipping in the Red Sea. In addition to patrolling the region and intercepting aerial attacks, the coalition has launched retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets inside of Yemen.