US suspends Houthi sanctions for one month
The United States has temporarily suspended sanctions against the Houthi rebels because they are on the US list of terrorist organisations. The suspension will remain in effect for a month while the newly arrived Biden administration considers whether or not to keep the Houthi rebels on the blacklist. Their addition to the list was one of the last decisions of outgoing President Donald Trump and was widely criticised by many humanitarian organisations.
The serious situation of violence and instability in Yemen has caused the country to experience the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Because of this, humanitarian organisations fear that the sanctions imposed by the United States will further aggravate the living conditions of the Yemeni population, as they hinder and prevent the arrival of humanitarian aid.
Biden's arrival could mean a change of course, and for this reason it has been decided to suspend the sanctions for a month in order to allow the necessary aid and transactions with the rebels to take place. The White House will decide at a later date whether to maintain the listing or finally remove the Houthis from the list of terrorist organisations. The new Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, was quick to announce that he would review this decision to ensure that there are no obstacles to the delivery of aid.
Organisations, including the United Nations, claimed that in order to gain access to rebel-held territory and help the population, it was essential to reach agreements with them in one way or another, which is why they feared that blocking transactions would indirectly affect the delivery of aid. The US Treasury warns that this decision does not affect funds that were frozen in the country prior to the listing.
Yemen has been at war for six years, pitting Houthi rebels against the newly formed government, which is supported mainly by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The coalition has not yet been able to take the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, which has been held by the rebels since the uprising. Since then, the Yemeni government has maintained the temporary capital in Aden.
Several countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon, as well as other European countries, have condemned the attack on the Saudi capital Riyadh. A missile apparently launched from Yemen was reportedly intercepted over the Saudi Arabian capital without causing any damage.
The Houthis have denied any link to the attack, as they did to the attack that rocked Aden airport before the arrival of the new government and left more than 30 people dead. However, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has not hesitated to accuse the rebel group of the attack, as well as indicating that Iran's aim is to sabotage the agreements reached in Saudi Arabia that have allowed the establishment of a new government in the country.
The United Arab Emirates, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has expressed its rejection of the attempts by the Iranian-backed Houthis to continue the violence in the region. They have also stressed that the security of Saudi Arabia and the UAE is indivisible, and that any threat to Saudi Arabia will be considered by the UAE as its own.
