After more than a decade of conflict, Saudi Arabia has recently begun intensifying pressure on the European Union to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization. This move reflects a broader effort by Riyadh to increase international pressure on the group, which has carried out near-daily attacks against the Kingdom in recent weeks.
However, Saudi Arabia has yet to overcome European concerns. Six European officials told the Reuters news agency that European nations fear that designating the Houthis as a terrorist organization would sever the limited communication channels they maintain with the group, and could potentially hinder any European involvement in a future peace process in Yemen. It is worth noting that the Houthis are already subject to European Union sanctions, which include an arms embargo and the freezing of assets belonging to 12 senior figures.
Recently, the European Union designated the Revolutionary Guards—considered a key backer of the Houthis—as a terrorist organization. Yet, the bloc has so far refrained from labeling the Houthis themselves as terrorists—a step taken by other Western nations, including the United States, Australia, Canada, and, of course, Israel.
As previously mentioned, for over a decade, Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition fighting against the terrorist organization, in conjunction with the Yemeni government—which the Houthis ousted from the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. Backed by the U.S., Riyadh launched a challenging military campaign, which subsided after the parties agreed to a ceasefire in 2022. This ceasefire collapsed in July of this year, following accusations by the Houthis that Riyadh had bombed the airport in Sanaa. Since then, both sides have carried out cross-border attacks that have resulted in the deaths and injuries of numerous civilians and terrorists.