US relists Houthis as terrorists in response to Red Sea attacks

US relists Houthis as terrorists in response to Red Sea attacks
Houthi fighters and tribesmen stage a rally against the US and the UK strikes on Houthi-run military sites near Sanaa, Yemen, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 18 January 2024
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US relists Houthis as terrorists in response to Red Sea attacks

US relists Houthis as terrorists in response to Red Sea attacks
  • The Houthis’ campaign has disrupted global commerce, stoked fears of inflation and deepened concern that fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the Middle East

WASHINGTON: The US government on Wednesday returned the Yemen-based Houthi rebels to a list of terrorist groups in the latest attempt by Washington to stem attacks on international shipping.
Officials said the “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT) designation, which hits the Iran-aligned group with harsh sanctions, was aimed at cutting off funding and weapons the Houthis have used to attack or hijack ships in vital Red Sea shipping lanes.
“This designation is an important tool to impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets, and hold them accountable for their actions,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
“If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will immediately reevaluate this designation,” Sullivan said.
President Joe Biden’s administration also issued “carve outs” aimed at avoiding an impact on Yemen’s population, which relies on food imports and humanitarian aid, and pledged to conduct outreach to groups including aid agencies before the designation comes into effect in 30 days.
The Houthis’ campaign has disrupted global commerce, stoked fears of inflation and deepened concern that fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the Middle East.
Biden last week called the Houthis a “terrorist” group. American and British warplanes, ships and submarines have launched dozens of airstrikes targeting the Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen.
The US military on Tuesday carried out its latest strike against four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles, two US officials told Reuters.
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam on Wednesday told Reuters that the designation would not affect operations, which the group says are in support of the Palestinians and target Israeli ships or ships heading to Israel.
The attacks are part of a broad response to the Gaza conflict by a so-called Axis of Resistance — including the Houthis alongside Palestinian militants Hamas, Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Iraq’s Shiite militias — with ties to US adversary Iran.
“We will continue to counter and blunt Iranian malign influence wherever we can. So of course the choice to move away from Iran is now in the hands of the Houthis,” said one of three administration officials who briefed reporters ahead of the announcement on condition of anonymity.
A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing government forces fighting the Houthis in a war widely seen as a proxy conflict between US ally Saudi Arabia and Iran.

POLITICAL TUSSLE
Former President Donald Trump’s administration added the Houthis to two lists designating them as terrorists a day before its term ended. The United Nations, aid groups and some US lawmakers expressed fears that sanctions would disrupt flows of food, fuel and other commodities into Yemen.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revoked the designations days after taking office in 2021, citing concerns sanctions would disrupt flows of vital humanitarian goods to Yemen.
The Houthis on Wednesday were relisted as an SDGT group, but not as a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO), which includes stricter prohibitions on providing material support to those on the list and would mean automatic travel bans. US officials said this would make it easier to exempt humanitarian goods from sanctions.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement it was “past time for this administration to take a clear-eyed view situation and re-designate the Iran-backed Houthis as a FTO.”

’CHILLING EFFECT’
The US Treasury Department issued licenses authorizing certain transactions involving the Houthis, including transactions related to agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, telecommunications and personal remittances. Also authorized were transactions involving the Houthis related to port and airport operations as well as refined petroleum products in Yemen.
The UN describes the humanitarian crisis in Yemen as “severe,” with more than 21 million people — two-thirds of the population — in need of aid. It says more than 80 percent of the population struggles to access food, safe drinking water and adequate health services.
Anastasia Moran, the International Rescue Committee’s associate director for US advocacy, warned that even with carve outs, the designation would likely have “a serious chilling effect” on the supply of food to Yemen’s population, 75 percent of which lives in areas controlled by the Houthis.
“Humanitarian exemptions alone are often not enough to mitigate harm from sanctions,” she said.
The United Nations said it would continue providing aid in Yemen but called for Washington to clarify its exemptions and encourage commercial activity to continue.
“We remain concerned about the potential reluctance from the private sector to continue business involving Yemen as a result of this designation, based on the associated reputational risks or potential lack of clarity over the exact scope of exemptions,” said Eri Kaneko, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.


Turkiye’s foreign minister visits Athens to help mend ties between the regional rivals

Turkiye’s foreign minister visits Athens to help mend ties between the regional rivals
Updated 22 sec ago
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Turkiye’s foreign minister visits Athens to help mend ties between the regional rivals

Turkiye’s foreign minister visits Athens to help mend ties between the regional rivals
ATHENS, Greece: Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived Friday in Athens for meetings with his Greek counterpart as part of efforts to ease tension between the two neighbors and regional rivals.
Both NATO members, Greece and Turkiye have been at loggerheads for decades over a long series of issues, including volatile maritime boundary disputes that have twice led them to the brink of war. The two have renewed a diplomatic push for over a year to improve ties.
“Step by step, we have achieved a level of trust so that we can discuss issues with sincerity and prevent crises,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said in an interview with Turkiye’s Hurriyet newspaper published Thursday.
The meeting between the two foreign ministers follows a series of high-profile talks between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of a relation-mending initiative launched in 2023.
Officials in Athens are expected to raise concerns about rising illegal migration, as Greece has seen an uptick in arrivals. And, despite deep disagreements on Israel and fighting in the Middle East, both foreign ministers are also expected to explore ways to improve regional stability.
The talks will help set the stage for a Greece-Turkiye high-level cooperation council planned for early 2025 in Ankara, Turkiye.

Turkiye’s Erdogan hopes Trump will tell Israel to “stop,” NTV reports

Turkiye’s Erdogan hopes Trump will tell Israel to “stop,” NTV reports
Updated 10 min 12 sec ago
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Turkiye’s Erdogan hopes Trump will tell Israel to “stop,” NTV reports

Turkiye’s Erdogan hopes Trump will tell Israel to “stop,” NTV reports

ANKARA: Turkiye’s President Tayyip Erdogan said that he hoped US President-elect Donald Trump will tell Israel to “stop” the attacks and halting arms support to Israel could be a good start, broadcaster NTV reported on Friday.
Trump’s presidency will seriously affect political and military balances in the Middle East region, Erdogan was quoted as telling reporters on his flight back to Turkiye from Budapest, where he attended a European Political Community summit. 


Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead women and children, UN rights office says

Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead women and children, UN rights office says
Updated 16 min 10 sec ago
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Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead women and children, UN rights office says

Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead women and children, UN rights office says
  • UN Human Rights Office: Systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law
  • The youngest victim whose death was verified by UN monitors was a one-day-old boy, and the oldest was a 97-year-old woman

GENEVA: The UN Human Rights Office said on Friday nearly 70 percent of the fatalities it has verified in the Gaza war were women and children, and condemned what it called a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
The UN count covers the first seven months of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip that began more than a year ago.
The 8,119 victims verified by the UN Rights Office in that seven-month period is considerably lower than the toll of over 43,000 provided by Palestinian health authorities for the full 13 months of conflict.
But the UN breakdown of the victims’ age and gender backs the Palestinian assertion that women and children represent a large portion of those killed in the war.
This finding indicates “a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality,” the UN rights office said in a statement accompanying the 32-page report.
“It is essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies and that, in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence are collected and preserved,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said.
Israel did not immediately comment on the report’s findings.
Israel’s military, which began its offensive in response to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in which Hamas fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and seized more than 250 hostages, says it takes care to avoid harming civilians in Gaza.
It has said approximately one civilian has been killed for every fighter, a ratio it blames on Hamas, saying the Palestinian militant group uses civilian facilities. Hamas has denied using civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as human shields.
YOUNGEST VICTIM AGED ONE DAY
The youngest victim whose death was verified by UN monitors was a one-day-old boy, and the oldest was a 97-year-old woman, the report said.
Overall, children represented 44 percent of the victims, with children aged five-nine representing the single biggest age category, followed by those aged 10-14, and then those aged up to and including four.
This broadly reflects the enclave’s demographics, which the report said reflected an apparent failure to take precautions to avoid civilian losses.
It showed that in 88 percent of cases, five or more people were killed in the same attack, pointing to the Israeli military’s use of weapons with an effect across a wide area, although it said some fatalities may have been the result of errant projectiles from Palestinian armed groups.


Khamenei aide warns against impulsive Iran response to Israel attack

Khamenei aide warns against impulsive Iran response to Israel attack
Updated 54 min 42 sec ago
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Khamenei aide warns against impulsive Iran response to Israel attack

Khamenei aide warns against impulsive Iran response to Israel attack
  • Israel is engaged in conflicts with the Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon
  • Israeli warplanes struck military sites in Iran on October 26 in retaliation for a large Iranian missile attack

TEHRAN: An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned against launching an “instinctive” response to Israeli air strikes on the Islamic republic last month.
Israel, Iran’s sworn enemy, is engaged in conflicts with the Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli warplanes struck military sites in Iran on October 26 in retaliation for a large Iranian missile attack on Israel at the start of the month.
“Israel aims to bring the conflict to Iran. We must act wisely to avoid its trap and not react instinctively,” the adviser, Ali Larijani, told state television late Thursday.
Iran said it fired 200 missiles at Israel on October 1 in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh while he was in Tehran.
After Israel hit back, it warned Iran against any counterattack, but the Islamic republic has vowed to respond.
“Our actions and reactions are strategically defined, so we must avoid instinctive or emotional responses and remain entirely rational,” Larijani added.
The former parliament speaker also praised Nasrallah for accepting a ceasefire during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war rather than making an “emotional decision.”
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a potential ceasefire between Tehran’s allies and Israel could affect Iran’s response to the Israeli strikes.


Hezbollah claims second attack on Israel naval base in 24 hours

Hezbollah claims second attack on Israel naval base in 24 hours
Updated 08 November 2024
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Hezbollah claims second attack on Israel naval base in 24 hours

Hezbollah claims second attack on Israel naval base in 24 hours
  • The group had on Thursday claimed another attack on the same area
  • Israel has been at war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah since late September

BEIRUT: Hezbollah said it targeted a naval base near the Israeli city of Haifa with missiles Friday, the second such attack in less than 24 hours.
The Iran-backed Lebanese group said it targeted the “Stella Maris” naval base northwest of Haifa with a missile barrage, “in response to the attacks and massacres committed by the Israeli enemy.”
The group had on Thursday claimed another attack on the same area.
In a separate statement, the group claimed that it had also targeted the Ramat David air base, southeast of Haifa, with missiles.
Israel has been at war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah since late September when it broadened its focus from fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip to securing its northern border.
It escalated its air campaign and later sent in ground forces into the country’s south.
This came after a year of cross-border exchanges with Hezbollah, which has said it was acting in support of Hamas Palestinian militants fighting Israel in Gaza.
The war has killed more than 2,600 people in Lebanon since September 23, according to the Lebanese health ministry.