RUTHFULLY YOURS

Under the Biden Administration, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have effectively taken over the country, have significantly escalated their activities, culminating in a dramatic increase in their aggressive activities. They recently carried out an attack on Tel Aviv, Israel, resulting in one fatality and at least ten people injured. The assault marks the Houthis’ first deadly strike into Israeli territory, reflecting a troubling widening of their actions.

The Houthis have also expanded their offensive operations to paralyze maritime traffic, with more than 60 attacks on ships navigating the Red Sea, and have issued explicit threats against vessels travelling to Israel, further heightening tensions in the region and forcing massive disruption in commercial maritime traffic. Ships, increasingly unable to acquire insurance, are now forced to detour around the continent of Africa.

The Biden Administration played an important role in empowering the Houthis. First, it started by reversing a key policy from the previous Trump administration: shortly after taking office, on February 12, 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken officially removed the Houthis’ designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. This decision marked a significant shift in U.S. policy: it delisted a group that, according to a Yemeni government intelligence report, has close affiliations with Al Qaeda and ISIS, and, according to other reports, regularly commits crimes war crimes (here and here) and crimes against humanity.

The Houthis, furthermore, are significantly backed by Iran. It ensures that the Houthis remain well-armed, while the Biden Administration, in turn, keeps the Iranian regime financially supported.

The Iranian regime has been involved in smuggling prohibited weapons and advanced military technology to the Houthis in Yemen. A Reuters report highlights that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the U.S. State Department has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, is a major supporter of the Houthis. The IRGC has been increasing its arms supplies to the Houthis through Oman, including providing them with anti-tank guided missiles, sniper rifles, cruise missiles and attack drones.

Iranian officials have openly acknowledged their support; for instance, Esmail Ghani, the deputy commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, confirmed as early as 2015 that those defending Yemen have received training from Iran: “Those defending Yemen have been trained under the flag of the Islamic Republic [of Iran].”

The Biden administration’s policy has involved releasing billions of dollars (for instance, here, here and here) to the Iranian regime, and refraining from enforcing stringent sanctions against Iran (here and here). The influx of funds has doubtless enabled the Iranian regime to allocate substantial financial resources towards supporting and arming the Houthis as well as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. By easing financial constraints on Tehran, the administration’s actions have directly bolstered Iran’s ability to provide the Houthis with the necessary weaponry to intensify their operations.

This flow of capital has not only sustained Iran’s regional influence but is also prolonging the conflict in the region.

The US Navy, thanks to the Houthis, has reportedly been facing “its most intense combat since World War II” and has reacted by destroying three “small boats” whose crews attempted to board a container ship in the Red Sea; a fourth boat “fled the scene.”

Responding to the Houthis was left to little Israel. Last week, its air force targeted Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah “in an attempt to prevent the ongoing delivery of weapons to the Houthi militia by Iran”:

“The Israeli bombing raid on Saturday evening ignited huge fires at oil and gas storage tanks in Yemen’s port of Hodeidah, on the country’s Red Sea coast. Israel also targeted an electrical station and cranes that load and unload cargo at the port, according to officials in Israel and Yemen.

“Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Hodeidah port was the ‘entry point for weapons that are supplied by Iran to its Houthi terrorist proxies. ‏The Houthis have used those weapons to attack Israel, to attack Arab states in the region, to attack many others.'”

Yet, not one senior US official – not US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris nor Secretary of State Antony Blinken — bothered to greet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “The Churchill of the Middle East,” at the airport when he landed this week in Washington, D.C. In an additional snub, Harris boycotted his speech to Congress.

A former U.S. military official, speaking to CNN on the condition of anonymity, criticized the current approach, likening it to past unsuccessful efforts:

“The US campaign against the Houthis appears to bear the hallmarks of many of these highly circumscribed, scrubbed campaigns of the past where we seek to avoid causing them actual pain.”

The Trump Administration’s assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s IRGC, led to a halt in Iranian provocations against the U.S. for the remainder of his presidency. To effect meaningful change in the Houthis’ behavior, it will unfortunately be necessary to deliver more decisive actions.

Without the US significantly diminishing the Houthis’ military capabilities, as well as those of Iran, both will continue to present a considerable threat. The U.S. administration needs to take decisive action, starting with targeting the leadership of the Houthis. The administration also needs to redesignate the Houthis as a full-fledged “Foreign Terrorist Organization.” In January, after pressure, the Houthis were ultimately named “Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” a level below “Foreign Terrorist Organization”, which enables them still to receive funding and enter the United States. This week, however, there has been bipartisan pressure to re-list the Houthis as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” but the fate of such a bill in the US Senate is uncertain.

In addition, to prevent further escalation, the U.S. must focus on addressing the root cause of the turmoil: the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its IRGC. Options could involve targeting Iranian ports used for oil exports, or striking IRGC facilities while rigorously enforcing existing sanctions. By aiming at Iran’s critical oil infrastructure or military bases, the U.S. could send a clear message to Tehran, pressuring them to halt their support for the Houthi insurgency.

So far, the policies and decisions of the Biden Administration have directly strengthened both Iran and the Houthis. By refusing to enforcing stringent measures, the Biden administration has provided these groups with all the support and resources they needed to redouble their hostilities without significant repercussions. Given the growing threat posed by these developments, and especially Iran’s nuclear weapons program, it is imperative that the US take decisive steps to address the issue effectively before the situation further deteriorates into an even larger international crisis.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu