Tehran has denounced Washington’s “provocative” blacklisting of Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement, saying the move is in line with the United States’ support for the “terrorist” Israeli regime.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said in a statement on Thursday that Ansarullah and the Yemeni nation are subject to the wrath of the US because of their support for the oppressed people of Palestine.
This is “a provocative move aimed to fulfill the supportive role of the US for the crimes of the child-killing Zionist regime,” Kan’ani said.
On Wednesday, Washington re-designated Ansarullah as a “terrorist” group amid frustration with anti-Israel naval operations by the Yemeni armed forces in the Red Sea.
The designation, which takes effect in 30 days, requires American financial institutions to freeze Ansarullah funds and bars members of the resistance group from traveling to the US.
It followed several rounds of illegal strikes by the United States and its allies on Yemen in violation of the country’s sovereignty and international law.
“The US’s unlimited support for the wicked Zionist regime as the world’s most hated terrorist organization is the main important cause of instability in West Asia and the strategic Red Sea region,” Kan’ani said.
By blacklisting Ansarullah, he added, the US showed once again that it is not willing to rectify its “wrong” and “destructive” policies in the region and is still part of the problems facing regional countries.
Israel waged a bloody war on the besieged Gaza Strip on October 7 following a historic operation by the Palestinian Hamas resistance group against the occupying entity.
The US has offered untrammeled support for Israel during the onslaught that has so far killed over 24,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured at least 61,000 others.
In solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, the Yemeni armed forces have targeted ships in the Red Sea with owners linked to Israel or those going to and from ports in the occupied territories.
In response, the US has formed a military coalition against Yemeni forces in the Red Sea and endangered maritime navigation in the strategic waterway.
