Ernst Works to Redesignate Iran-Backed Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization
This comes as the Houthis are attacking America’s ally, Israel.
WASHINGTON – Following Iran-backed Houthis’ attacks on Israel this week, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) joined her colleagues in introducing the Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act that would redesignate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), given their actions to destabilize the region, the security threat they pose to the U.S., and their ongoing attempts to attack Israel. An FTO designation provides a tool for the U.S. to enforce sanctions and disrupt financial support of a group’s terrorism.
“President Biden’s appeasement of Iran-backed terrorists must end. The Houthis are terrorists, and they should be called as such. Biden refusing to do so signals more weakness on the world stage and greenlights their ongoing attacks on our partners and Americans. Since the Biden administration isn’t going to take our adversaries’ threats seriously, I am taking action to enforce sanctions against Iran-backed Houthis to help protect our partners, like Israel, and save American lives,” said Senator Joni Ernst, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Background:
In February 2022, Ernst called on President Biden to re-impose terrorism sanctions on the Iran-controlled Houthis after a series of terror strikes on civilian targets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
###
