US diplomat Lenderking heads to Gulf amid efforts to halt Houthi attacks in Red Sea

US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking will travel to the Gulf region this week to look at ways of stopping the Iran-backed Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, the State Department said.

Lenderking will meet with regional counterparts to discuss de-escalation, stop the ongoing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, and renew focus on securing a durable peace for the people of Yemen, according to a statement.

Yemen’s Houthis have attacked or threatened international and commercial shipping over 40 times since Nov. 19, 2023, according to the Pentagon.

The Houthis say they are targeting ships going to and from Israel. But they have targeted commercial vessels that have nothing to do with Israel as well as US and British warships in the region.

In the region, Lenderking will officials to discuss the “urgent need to reduce regional tensions, including cessation of Houthi attacks, which are undermining both freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and progress on the Yemen peace process,” the State Department said.

Washington has been working closely with the UN, Saudi Arabia, Oman and others to find a solution to the yearslong war in Yemen as well as the dire humanitarian and economic crises in Yemen.

Last month, the Biden administration backtracked on one of its first foreign policy moves and redesignated the Houthis as a terrorist organization due to the group’s ongoing attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

The Trump administration had previously designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). However, under the Biden administration, the Houthis were delisted as Washington said it wanted to make it easier to get humanitarian aid into Yemen.