01.12.24

Sullivan Supports Overdue Strikes on Houthis in Yemen

Senator Has Long Pressed Biden Administration to Reestablish Deterrence with Iran and its Terrorist Proxies

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today after a strike by U.S. and British military forces, with assistance from other allies, against Houthi rebels in Yemen. For months, the Houthis have been launching missiles and drones against military and commercial vessels traversing the Red Sea, substantially disrupting trade and shipping.

“For months, I have been calling on the Biden administration to reestablish deterrence with Iran, the Houthis and other Iran-backed terrorist proxy groups, like Hamas. The Houthis have been responsible for dozens of attacks in the Red Sea since October against U.S. forces, our allies, and commercial ships. I support the coalition strike, which is long overdue, but these actions alone will not reestablish deterrence. That is going to take a much more systematic, strategic approach to Iran. For example, for over a year, I’ve been pressing the Biden administration to redesignate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. It is remarkable that after weeks of Houthi direct attacks on Americans, the Biden administration still won’t take this decisive action. We should be aware that Iran’s malign influence in the region, including as the main funder and trainer of Hamas, will not stop until the Biden administration reestablishes deterrence and, at long last, stops appeasing the terrorist Mullahs in Iran.”

Background:

  • On November 2, 2023, Sen. Sullivan led 12 of his Senate Republican colleagues in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, demanding the Biden administration press for a broader, more permanent framework of sanctions on Iran from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). 
  • On November 14, 2023, Sens. Sullivan and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and a number of their Senate colleagues, introduced a resolution emphasizing the fact that deterrence is most credible when the President keeps all options on the table, including the use of military force, to deter attacks from Iran and its proxies.
  • On December 12, 2023, Sen. Sullivan and a number of his colleagues again sent a letter to Secretary Blinken, urging him to re-designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), as well as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT).

# # #