The United States may re-designate the rebels Houthis of Yemen “terrorist organization”, especially after the recent seizure of a ship in the Red Sea, announced today the representative of the National Security Council of the White House, John Kirby.

“In light of recent attacks against civilians by the Houthis, and now with this act of piracy against a ship in international waters, we have considered a possible designation as a terrorist organization,” he said.

THE Kirby also called on Iran-linked Yemeni rebels to “immediately and unconditionally” release the cargo ship with a 25-man crew they seized on Sunday in the Red Sea.

The ship, chartered by a Japanese group, is Israeli-owned.

The Houthis have threatened to target Israeli ships in this strategically important sea between northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula in retaliation for Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This conflict erupted after the Palestinian movement’s unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7.

The Houthis are part of what they call an “axis of resistance” against Israel, which includes Iranian-backed organizations such as Palestinian Hamas or Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

The United States had withdrawn the Houthis from their list of “terrorist organizations” in February 2021, judging at the time that the designation complicated the response to a very serious humanitarian crisis in Yemen — a war-torn country, much of which the rebel group controls.