US set to re-designate Houthis as terror group

The US is set to re-designate Yemen's Houthi rebels as "global terrorist", senior Biden administration officials have said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will approve the move amid ongoing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed group.

The move will require US financial institutions to freeze Houthi funds and its members will be banned from the US.

It reverses Mr Blinken's 2021 decision to remove the Houthis from the list.

In the waning days of the Trump administration officials imposed the specially designated global terrorist (SDGT) and foreign terrorist organization (FTO) labels on the Houthis.