An Iranian-made drone fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels exploded in Tel Aviv early Friday morning, killing one person down the street from a branch of the U.S. embassy. The attack — which marked the first Israeli casualty amid numerous Houthi drones fired at Israel in recent months — and its proximity to an American diplomatic building reopened a debate in Washington about how the State Department should classify the Iran-backed militant group, and whether the U.S. should adopt a tougher line. 

Several lawmakers on Friday called on the State Department to designate the Houthis a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), a formal category that would make it easier for the U.S. to target and sanction them. Former President Donald Trump had added the Houthis to the FTO list, a decision President Joe Biden revoked soon after taking office, arguing that deeming the Houthis a terrorist organization would make it harder for humanitarian aid to reach Yemenis in need. 

“The deadly drone strike on Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis near the U.S. consulate in Tel Aviv is deeply concerning and unprecedented. It’s a grim reminder that the Houthis are a brutal terrorist organization that must be held accountable,” Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) told Jewish Insider in a statement. “Earlier this year I called on the Biden Administration to formally designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization so we can fully crack down on their sources of arms and funding, and this latest attack makes it clear that we cannot afford to wait any longer.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in response to news of the attack that, “The message of the Houthis, an Iranian proxy armed with Iranian drones, couldn’t be clearer: ‘Death to America. Death to Israel. Curse upon the Jews.’ The time has come for the US State Department to designate the Houthis as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization.’”

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) pushed for more aggressive action, telling JI that he believes the U.S. needs to take a stronger military posture against Iran in order to actually establish deterrence with the Houthis.

“My view is, at this juncture, the only way to deter the Houthis is to make Iran pay the price. We should sink all their spy ships who probably helped with this attack. We should tell them we’ll sink your whole Navy if you continue this. We have the capacity to sink the Iranian Navy [within] two hours, and we just let the Houthis attack us, attack Israel,” Sullivan said. 

Sullivan said that he expects widespread U.S. support for strikes on Iran if the Houthis manage to hit a U.S. vessel in the Red Sea, excoriating the Biden administration for “a complete failure of policy.” 

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told JI that the top Democrat was being briefed on the situation in Tel Aviv and did not say where he stands on an FTO re-designation. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office (R-KY) said he supports adding the Houthis back to the FTO list, noting that he opposed the Biden administration’s decision to de-list the group in the first place. 

The House passed legislation in April redesignating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization with bipartisan support, but its path forward in the Senate is unclear without Schumer’s support. 

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who voted for that bill, wrote on X that, “The Houthis’ drone strike in Tel Aviv near our American consulate is unacceptable and unprecedented. I proudly stand with Israel, and I will continue working to hold accountable this terrorist group and the Iranian regime which funds them.”

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), another supporter of the legislation, echoed the demands for accountability.

“Last night’s Iran-backed Houthi drone attack against civilians in the center of Tel Aviv is shocking and yet another example of the barbarism confronting Israel daily. Iran and the Houthis must be held accountable and we must be unwavering in our support for Israel’s right to exist and defend itself,” he wrote on X.

Not everyone agrees that re-listing the Houthis is the best path forward, with some expressing skepticism that the move would make any significant difference.

“That’s a symbolic gesture. I don’t think that necessarily solves any problems, but if that sends the right message I think that would be fine,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who is running to replace McConnell when he retires as Senate GOP leader in the fall, said. 

Cornyn said that he doesn’t have “an easy solution, other than that we need to defeat Iran’s aspirations in the region through all these proxies.”

Asked about the attack and if he supported an FTO redesignation, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told JI in a statement:“The Houthi attacks over the past few months, including the recent drone attack in Tel Aviv, are unacceptable. The best path forward to deescalate tensions in the Middle East is for Hamas and the Israeli government to accept a deal that would release hostages held by Hamas, establish a durable ceasefire, and increase humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

Since late last year, the Houthis have been wreaking havoc on global shipping by launching attacks on dozens of maritime vessels in the Red Sea. The U.S. Navy has had assets stationed in the Red Sea for months to shoot down Houthi drones and missiles, a mission Cmdr. Eric Blomberg with the USS Laboon described as “deadly serious” to the Associated Press last month.

In January, the Biden administration deemed the Houthis a Specially Designated Terrorist Group, a notch below the FTO designation. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said at the time that they chose not to reinstate the FTO designation because it “doesn’t have quite the measure of flexibility in terms of humanitarian assistance.”

A National Security Council spokesperson declined to comment on whether the White House is reconsidering the issue, telling JI on Friday that they “don’t have anything to preview on this at this time.” 

“We condemn this strike in Tel Aviv, which appears to be the latest in the Houthis’ reckless and destabilizing actions. Our heart goes out to the victims and we wish those injured a speedy recovery,” the spokesperson said. Biden was briefed on the attack on Friday morning, according to a White House official.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told JI that the U.S. doesn’t yet have any confirmation of the Houthis’ intentions with the strike, including whether they were targeting the U.S. embassy office. 

“We’re continuing to look — it was close to the embassy branch office and, tragically, took the life of a civilian… and just terrible injuries,” Sullivan said. “We’re responding to the Houthis for their acts of terrorism on the high sea on a regular basis and will continue to do so. We’ll consult with the Israelis as well on how to take the next steps with respect to our campaign against them but I don’t have anything to announce to you today in terms of the specifics.”

Gen. C.Q. Brown, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said on Friday at the Aspen Security Forum that stopping Houthi attacks will take more than just military action, in response to a question about whether the U.S.’s military strategy against the Houthis is working and whether the U.S. should expand its targets.

“It’s going to take more than just the military strikes to change the Houthis. It’s going to take more than the interagency, it’s going to take more of the international community to put pressure on the Houthis to stop what they’re doing,” Brown said at the Aspen Security Forum. “It’s going to take more than just a military campaign to take the Houthis off track.”

Gen. Erik Kurilla, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, reportedly asked the Pentagon for authority to expand attacks on the Houthis, arguing that the current approach isn’t working.

Asked about the push by lawmakers like Sullivan for the U.S. to carry out strikes on Iran or Iranian spy vessels in the Red Sea, Brown said that the administration’s goal has been to keep the conflict in the Middle East from escalating and ”we’ve been effective in doing that,” but said that the military is prepared to take further action if asked to so do.

Brown declined to confirm reports that Russia is considering providing drones to the Houthis, but urged Russia not to do so.

“We don’t want to broaden the conflict, and them supporting the Houthis, if that’s what they’re doing, helps to broaden the conflict and just makes it more complicated in the Middle East,” he said.

Brown suggested that the Houthis’ aims — initially framed around supporting the Palestinians in Gaza — have broadened. He said that the Houthis’ disruptions of trade in the region are having real impacts on goods and services.

Will Wechsler, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs, argued an FTO designation is needed given the Houthis’ “direct challenge” to America’s goal of “freedom of navigation for global commerce.”

“The Houthis clearly meet the FTO threshold, and such a designation should be made,” Wechsler. “U.S. military actions against the Houthis have been limited to purely defensive and directly responsive strikes — they have clearly been inadequate to deter the Houthis from further terrorist attacks on shipping or on Israel.”