Saudi Arabia pressures EU to designate Houthis as terrorists — Jerusalem Post
Saudi Arabia is calling on the European Union to designate Yemen’s Houthi movement as a terrorist organization. At the same time, European countries fear that such a decision could limit contacts with the group and harm a possible peace process in Yemen, the Jerusalem Post reports, citing six European officials.
Riyadh’s campaign is part of broader efforts to increase international pressure on the Iran-backed Houthis. According to the publication, following the resumption of the war, the group has been attacking Saudi Arabia almost daily in recent weeks.
Consent of all EU states is required
To add the Houthis to the terrorist list, unanimous support from all 27 EU member states is required. At present, only a small number of countries support this initiative, one of the publication’s sources said. At the same time, the European Union already imposes sanctions on the Houthis, including an arms embargo and asset freezes on 12 commanders.
The EU has also designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which supports the Houthis, as a terrorist organization. The Houthi movement itself has been included on terrorist lists by the United States, Australia, and Canada. Last month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the EU to take the same step.
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Concerns over negotiations and shipping
European officials fear that adding the Houthis to the terrorist list could close limited channels of communication with the movement and complicate Europe’s participation in a future peace process in Yemen. Joanna de Deus Pereira, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, also pointed to the risk of Houthi attacks on European ships near Yemen and possible difficulties for humanitarian organizations in areas controlled by the movement.
Officials also stressed that a decision to add an organization to the terrorist list is difficult to reverse: removing it would also require the unanimous consent of EU states. In 2022, the Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government agreed to a ceasefire, but it ended in July this year. Since then, the sides have carried out cross-border attacks, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries.
In October, after a deadly Houthi missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc stood in solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
