State Department to Revoke Terrorism Designation of Ansarallah
In one of its first major decisions to reverse Trump administration-imposed sanctions, the State Department will revoke its terrorism designation of Ansarallah Feb. 16. The move, which reverses the designation of the Yemen-based group also known as Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, came after the State Department said it was reviewing the humanitarian implications of the designations. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control in January issued several general licenses and frequently asked questions to clarify that the sanctions wouldn't impact humanitarian exports to Yemen, including those sent by international organizations (see 2101190016 and 2101250043), but the State Department said the designation could still hamper some aid delivery.
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“This decision is a recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a Feb. 12 statement. “We have listened to warnings from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, and bipartisan members of Congress, among others, that the designations could have a devastating impact on Yemenis’ access to basic commodities like food and fuel.” Blinken said the State Department will continue to sanction some members of the group, including Ansarallah leaders Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim. He added that the agency is “actively identifying additional targets for designation.”