Yemen, China, Cuba top Pompeo to-do list as time runs down

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has anunced that he will designate Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels as a “foreign terrorist organization” as time runs down on Trump ministration. designation will take effect on Jan. 19, one day before president-elect Joe Biden takes office.

anuncement Sunday comes as Pompeo and his top aides rush to complete actions y believe will cement ir legacy and president’s. In dition to Houthi designation, Pompeo in coming days is also expected to likely re-designate Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism," according to several mininstration officials.

Both moves will impose or re-impose sanctions on targets and may complicate incoming Biden ministration’s diplomacy. On Saturday Pompeo angered China when he declared restrictions on U.S. diplomatic contacts with Taiwanese officials to be null and void. In dition, Pompeo plans before leaving office on Jan. 20 to draw explicit links between Iran and al-Qaida and hit more Iranian entities with sanctions, officials said.

officials were t authorized to discuss steps publicly because y have t yet been anunced and spoke on condition of anymity. ministration h been weighing formal designation of Houthi rebels as a “foreign terrorist organization” for months. But that effort h been bogged down in internal disagreements over wher sanctions could be effectively enforced without worsening dire humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Objections from Treasury Department were apparently overcome last week after certain exemptions to sanctions allowing for aid work to continue were arranged. Late Sunday, Pompeo anunced that he was proceeding with designation of Houthis., also kwn as Ansarsallah, along with separate terrorist designations of three senior rebel leers.

“se designations will provide ditional tools to confront terrorist activity and terrorism by Ansarallah, a dely Iran-backed militia group in Gulf region,” he said. “ designations are intended to hold Ansarallah accountable for its terrorist acts, including cross-border attacks threatening civilian populations, infrastructure, and commercial shipping. ”

Consideration of designation h alrey prompted complaints from relief organizations that have warned sanctions could prove catastrophic for efforts to help starving Yemeni civilians who have been caught in conflict between Houthis and Yemeni government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia.

“ United States recognizes concerns that se designations will have an impact on humanitarian situation in Yemen,” Pompeo said in his statement. “We are planning to put in place measures to reduce ir impact on certain humanitarian activity and imports into Yemen.” Those measures will include issuance of special licenses by Treasury to allow U.S. assistance to continue to flow to Yemen and for humanitarian organizations to continue to work re, he said.

President Donald Trump has taken a tough line on Cuba and rolled back many of sanctions that Obama ministration h eased or lifted as part of a broer rapprochement with communist island. Removing Cuba from “state sponsors of terrorism” list h been a key component of that effort and re-listing country has been a long-term goal of Pompeo's.

Such a designation is a legal one and it was t immediately clear on Sunday if all technical criteria needed to restore Cuba to list h been met, according to officials. In removing Cuba from list, Obama ministration h determined that country longer supported international terrorism, but Pompeo is expected to cite Cuban support for Venezuelan leer Nicolas Muro as a major justification for move, officials said.

Pompeo is also expected to deliver remarks later this week deuncing Iran for its alleged harboring and support for members of Osama bin Len's al-Qaida network. In vember, U.S, officials said Iran h been harboring al-Qaida's . 2, Abu Muhamm al-Masri, who h been killed in August by Israeli nts in Iran along with his daughter, widow of bin Len's son Hamza bin Len. Trump ministration has steily ratcheted up pressure on Iran since president withdrew from 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and began to re-impose sanctions that h been eased under agreement, which aimed to curb Iran's atomic program.

On Saturday, Pompeo anunced that he was rescinding all restrictions on contacts between U.S. diplomats and Taiwanese officials. Those restrictions h been in place since U.S. formally opted its “one China” policy in 1979 and recognized Beijing after dropping formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.

Pompeo has been at forefront of ministration's push to go after China for its actions in Taiwan, crackdowns on dissent and human rights in Tibet, Hong Kong and western Xinjiang region, as well as Beijing's disputed maritime claims in South China Sea.

(Im Credit: AP)