Saudi Arabia sends a firm message to Europe: "Designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization"

Saudi Arabia continues to try to deal with the Houthi threat and is now turning to Europe for help. The attacks by the terrorist organization on the Arab kingdom have not stopped, and Saudi Arabia hopes that European countries will come to its aid. However, the Saudi request is not expected to be met with understanding by the European Union.

Saudi Arabia is increasing pressure on the European Union to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization, after more than a decade of fighting and almost daily attacks against the kingdom in recent weeks. Six European officials told Reuters that European countries fear that adding the Houthis to the list of terrorist organizations would block the limited communication channels they maintain with the group and could harm any European involvement in a future peace process in Yemen. The Houthis are already subject to EU sanctions, including an arms embargo and asset freezes on 12 senior militants. The EU recently designated Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization but refrained from designating the Houthis themselves – a step taken by the United States, Australia, Canada, and Israel. Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition fighting the Houthis alongside the Yemeni government, which was driven from the capital Sanaa in 2014. A ceasefire reached in 2022 collapsed in July this year after the Houthis accused Riyadh of bombing Sanaa airport.