US President Donald Trump's decision to re-designate Yemen's Huthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organisation could have deep implications for aid and the peace process in the war-shattered country.

The Iran-backed Huthis, who control much of Yemen, have fired on Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, prompting reprisal strikes from US, Israeli and British forces.

Already the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country before the war broke out a decade ago, Yemen is now suffering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with about two-thirds of its 34 million people in need of aid.

Former US president Joe Biden removed the Huthis from the foreign terrorist list after humanitarian groups protested that they could not get aid to Yemen's needy without dealing with the rebels.

Meanwhile, fighting has largely stopped since the United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 2022, but the peace process has stalled and risks disintegrating if tensions rise.

AFP examines the US designation and its potential consequences.

- What does the new designation mean? -

Trump intends to return the Huthis to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), where he placed them during his first term.

A year ago under Biden, they were........

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