New sanctions on the Houthis will make it impossible for the first phase of the Saudi-Houthi peace deal to be implemented

The US is purposely blocking a Yemen peace deal that was negotiated between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The US decision to re-designate the Houthis as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” will block the payment of public sector workers living in Houthi-controlled Yemen, who have gone without pay for years. The payment of civil workers has been a key demand of the Houthis and is part of the first phase of the peace deal.

The first phase of the peace deal would also fully open Yemen’s airports and sea ports that have been under blockade since 2015, another aspect of the deal that will be complicated by the new US sanctions, which will go into effect later this month.

https://news.antiwar.com/2024/02/06/us-blocks-yemen-peace-deal/