US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday moved to brand Yemen’s Iranian-linked Huthi rebels as terrorists, a move that has been condemned by the Huthis as they said: “They reserved the right to respond.” The move by the US,  feared by aid groups, will worsen the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. 

The Huthis will be blacklisted on January 19, if not blocked by Congress, a day before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, whose aides had hoped to mount a fresh push to end Yemen’s devastating six-year-old war.

Pompeo’s decision could complicate Biden’s promised efforts to restart diplomacy with Iran and reassess the US’s alliance with Saudi Arabia. 

In a statement on late Sunday, Pompeo said, “The designations are intended to hold Ansar Allah accountable for its terrorist acts, including cross-border attacks threatening civilian populations, infrastructure and commercial shipping.”

Ansar Allah is the official name of the Huthi movement. 

Huthi political commander Mohamed Ali al-Huthi, in a tweet, said, “These policies represent a crisis in thinking and are to be condemned, and we have the right to respond.”

The Huthis have “led a brutal campaign that has killed many people, continues to destabilize the region and denies Yemenis a peaceful solution to the conflict in their country,” Pompeo sad in his statement.

Pompeo also designated as terrorists three leaders of the movement, including their chief Abdul Malik al-Huthi.

He pointed to a December 30 attack on an airport in Yemen’s second city Aden, which killed 26 people and was blamed by the Saudi-backed government on the Huthis.

The rebel group controls much of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, and is already under US sanctions.