Saudi Arabia puts pressure on EU to label Yemen's Houthis a terrorist group

Résumé détaillé

Nov 12 - Saudi Arabia is pressing the EU to designate Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement as a terrorist organisation, but has yet to overcome European concerns that this could undermine a future peace process, according to six European officials. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Large plume of black smoke rises from the fuel storage area at King Khalid International Airport, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 19, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Nov 12 - Saudi Arabia is pressing the EU to designate Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement as a terrorist organisation, but has yet to overcome European concerns that this could undermine a future peace process, according to six European officials.

The campaign reflects a broader effort by Riyadh to increase international pressure on the group, which has been carrying out near-daily attacks on the kingdom in recent weeks after the resumption of war that began more than a decade ago.

The Houthis are already subject to EU sanctions, including an arms embargo and asset freezes on 12 commanders. The EU has designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a key backer of the Houthis, as a terrorist organisation.

But the bloc has so far stopped short of designating the Houthis themselves as terrorists, a step that has been taken by other Western countries including the United States, Australia and Canada.

Saudi Arabia has for over a decade led a military coalition fighting against the group on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognised government, which the Houthis drove out of the capital Sanaa in 2014.

European countries worry that listing the Houthis as a terrorist group would close off the limited channels they maintain with the group and potentially undermine any European involvement in a future peace process in Yemen, the six European officials said.

Adding the Houthis to the terrorism designation list would require unanimous support of the EU's 27 member states. So far, support has been limited to only a small number of them, one of the six officials said, declining to identify the countries because the discussions were private.

Saudi Arabia's government communications office did not respond to a request for comment.

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