WASHINGTON

The US plans to relist Yemen's Houthi group as specially designated global terrorists, according to a report Tuesday.

The formal designation is expected to be announced on Wednesday, said The Wall Street Journal, citing officials.

The move comes days after the US began responding to repeated attacks by the Iran-backed group on merchant vessels in the Red Sea. The Houthis said their operations aim to pressure Israel to halt its deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

The Red Sea is a critical commercial waterway, connecting the Mediterranean Sea via Egypt's Suez Canal with the Gulf of Aden.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Dec. 18 announced the creation of a multinational mission to counter the attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Earlier in the day, the White House said "we're still reviewing that process.” It said in November that the US had initiated a review of potential terror designations for the Houthi group.

In January 2021, the administration of then-President Donald Trump designated the Houthis as a "foreign terrorist organization.”

But the Biden administration reversed the designation one month later, citing humanitarian concerns in Yemen.

Last week, President Joe Biden said he believes that the Houthis are a "terrorist" group after the US and UK launched military strikes in Yemen late Thursday.

“I think they are,” he said Friday when asked if he is willing to call them a terror group.