The United States plans to designate Yemen’s Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday.
The decision to blacklist the Iran-aligned group could be announced as soon as Monday, two of the sources said.
The Houthis and their allies took over large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, in 2015. A Saudi-led military coalition then intervened in Yemen to try to restore the government.
It has long been believed that Iran is planning to use the Houthis to take over Yemen and seize the key strategic port of Aden, which controls the entrance to the Red Sea and ultimately to the Israeli resort city of Eilat.
Iran denies it is backing the Houthis and has also denied Saudi Arabian accusations that Tehran provided the Houthi rebels in Yemen with ballistic capabilities.
Last February, the US Navy seized an Iranian weapons shipment bound for Houthi rebels in Yemen.