UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed asked his US counterpart, Anthony Blinken, in a phone call, on Monday, to reclassify the Yemeni Houthi movement allied with Iran as a terrorist organization, a high-ranking Emirati official told the website. Axios.
The Emirati request comes after three oil tankers exploded near Abu Dhabi port, on Monday, after they were attacked, which killed three civilians and wounded at least six.
The Houthis claimed responsibility, and said they had fired missiles and drones at Abu Dhabi port.
Since the attack, Emirati officials have held talks with several of their regional allies and with the administration of US President Joe Biden about next steps, according to Axios.
The site said that the UAE publicly called on the international community to condemn the attack.
Biden retracted the previous US administration’s decision to classify the Houthis on the terrorist list, less than a month after taking office.
At the time, Biden said that this designation impeded the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people. Since then, the Houthis have stepped up their attacks against Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region, including Monday’s attack in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.
A senior Emirati official told Axios: “During the call between Blinken and Abdullah bin Zayed, there was a discussion about the idea of ​​reclassifying the Houthis, given what they are currently doing.”
“The recent attack on civilian targets in Abu Dhabi, and the hijacking of a ship flying the UAE flag, fall directly into this category,” he added.
Earlier this month, the Houthis detained the crew of the Emirati ship Rawabi in the Red Sea after they said it was carrying military equipment, but the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned movement in Yemen says it was carrying medical equipment.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan condemned the Houthi attack on Abu Dhabi, saying in a statement: “We will work with the UAE and international partners to hold them accountable.”
He added, “Our commitment to the security of the UAE is unshakable, and we stand by our Emirati partners in the face of everything that threatens their lands.”
What began as a civil war in 2004 escalated into a regional conflict, Axios says, as the Saudis and other players in the Middle East helped the Yemeni government counter the Houthi insurgency.
The UAE, a member of the coalition, is arming and training local Yemeni forces that have recently joined the fight against the Houthis in Yemen’s energy-producing areas of Shabwa and Marib.