US to designate Yemen's Houthi rebels as terrorist group

BEIRUT – Washington plans to designate Yemen's Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization Monday, the State Department said, despite pleas by diplomats and aid groups that insist the move would push the country closer to famine, impede the delivery of aid to more than 20 million people and complicate any future peace talks.

The blacklisting of the Iran-supported group during the Trump administration's final days in office is part of an 11th-hour effort to buttress the administration's so-called maximum pressure campaign against Iran and limit President-elect Joe Biden's room for maneuver.

The decision, reportedly the subject of a months-long debate among policymakers, would put the Houthis on the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations