Canada is currently assessing whether the Shia Islamic Houthi movement should be added to the terrorism list in response to the Iran-backed group's attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

In a media statement, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc's spokesperson said that the country's security and intelligence agencies are studying whether the Houthis, who mainly operate in Yemen, meet the explicit criteria for listing them as terrorists.

The spokesperson also said that we will have more to say in due course.

Canada has faced pressure in recent months to add another group to the list – the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after it took off from Tehran in January 2020.

This horrific attack killed dozens of Canadians. The government has so far resisted these calls.

For his part, Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor to US President Joe Biden, said on Tuesday that the Houthi rebels will be designated under US law as global terrorists.

Sullivan said the recent Houthi attacks in the Red Sea fit the traditional definition of terrorism, as they endanger American individuals and threaten global trade operations.

Since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Houthis have launched dozens of rockets at commercial vessels passing through the Red Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Likewise last week, the US and the UK, with Canada's support, launched a wave of airstrikes on Houthi targets after the group's leaders ignored a warning to stop their attacks.

The US decision to relist the Houthis as terrorists in a short period will have financial impacts on the group and on Yemen.

The US had previously lifted its terrorist designation after the United Nations and aid groups said it worsened the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, which has been devastated by a civil war between a Houthi-backed group and the government.

Sullivan said that if the Houthis stop their attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the US will immediately reassess this designation.