Jerusalem sees Abu Dhabi initiative as opportunity to limit Iranian hegemony
Israel pressured the Biden administration to designate Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a terrorist group, at the request of the United Arab Emirates, two officials familiar with the matter told the Times of Israel.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been blamed for a series of drone and missile attacks against the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia that have increased in intensity over the past month.
Faced with this upsurge in attacks, Abu Dhabi has intensified its lobbying for the terrorist designation and appealed to Israel in this effort.
Jerusalem agreed, telling Joe Biden officials that reimposing the terror designation would reduce Iran’s “reckless” influence in the region, an Israeli official said.
“We are not doing this just for Emiratis. We believe such a step is in everyone’s interest,” the official added.
The Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the matter.
Former US President Donald Trump added the Houthis to the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations during his final days in office.
His successor Joe Biden reversed that decision about a month later as his administration struggled unsuccessfully to relaunch peace talks and end Yemen’s eight-year war that has claimed 130,000 lives.
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