The US Senate warned President Joe Biden about the increasing Houthi attacks on US allies, and lawmakers intensified their pressure on the administration to re-designate the militias on the list of terrorism.
In a rare move, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell dedicated his daily inaugural statement to address Iran's proxies in the region, referring to the recent Houthi attacks on the UAE.
McConnell said that for a third straight week, "the UAE was targeted by a Houthi missile attack, made possible by Tehran," adding that the terrorists targeted an airbase that hosts 2,000 US personnel last week.
The Republican leader indicated that the US faces Iranian-backed threats alongside partners like Israel and the UAE. "But you wouldn't know it by looking at President Biden's foreign policy."
He indicated that a year ago, the State Department removed Yemen's Houthi terrorists from its list of foreign terrorist organizations, and since then, "the Iranian proxy terrorists have only increased their attacks, underwritten by Iranian money and technology."
Last month the Biden Administration was reportedly considering reversing its decision.
McConnell warned that if the administration chooses to "shrug or look the other way when Iran targets our friends and our interests," and if they continue to withhold military capabilities from partners threatened by Iran, then they should not pretend to be surprised when traditional US partners in the Middle East start looking to Moscow and Beijing to fill the vacuum.
McConnell's statements reflect the growing concern of lawmakers about the threat of Iran's proxies to the interests of the United States in the region.
Republicans accuse the White House of reluctance to redesignate Houthis on the terrorist list for fear of angering Tehran.
It was reflected in McConnell's statements, who stated that the most significant distraction keeping this administration's attention from protecting its interests in the Middle East "has been its ongoing obsession with returning to the Obama Administration's failed 2015 nuclear agreement."
The Republican Senator made severe accusations against Biden, saying that "by blaming their predecessor's 'maximum pressure' approach and demonstrating an unwillingness to respond forcefully to Iranian-backed terrorist attacks, the administration effectively took the threat of sanctions or military action off the table, neutering their diplomacy at the outset."
Meanwhile, bipartisan representatives are increasing pressure on the US administration in this regard.
Representatives Seth Moulton and Mike Waltz will soon send a letter to Biden urging him to redesignate the Houthis in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization, a move the president said is under consideration.
In the letter shared by Politico, the two officials said they understand that "removing the designation was meant to help the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen, but it has done little outside of emboldening the Houthis to escalate their attacks and block reconciliation efforts in the country."
The letter discussed the importance of the partnership between the United States and the UAE, saying it is a "critical time to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with an important ally while they are under assault, reiterating our commitment to the US-UAE strategic partnership."
In the face of these efforts, the liberals from the Democratic Party are resisting taking a step of this kind, saying it obstructs humanitarian aid to Yemen.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy mocked the calls for designating Houthi a terrorist organization.
The Senator said in a tweet: "Designating the Houthis as a terrorist organization" sounds better than "an American blockade of food imports to Yemen to intentionally cause mass civilian starvation." But FYI, under US law, they are the same thing."
