Saudi Arabia is pressing the European Union to designate Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement as a terrorist organisation, but has yet to overcome European concerns that the step could undermine a future peace process, according to six European officials who spoke to Reuters. 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 a war that began more than a decade ago.

Source: Reuters, Nov 12, 2026

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 has so far stopped short of designating the Houthis themselves, a step already taken by the United States, Australia and Canada. The United States designated the group, also known as Ansarallah, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in March 2025.

Few European countries support designation, officials say

Adding the Houthis to the EU terrorism list would require the unanimous support of all 27 member states — and so far, support is limited to only a small number of them, one of the six officials said, declining to identify the countries because the discussions were private. European governments worry that a listing would close off the limited channels they maintain with the group and could shut Europe out of any future peace process in Yemen, the officials said. Several officials also noted that an EU terrorism designation is particularly difficult to reverse, since lifting it would again require unanimous support.

Saudi Arabia's government communications office did not respond to a request for comment. EU foreign policy spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said the bloc was in regular contact with Riyadh on a range of issues, including regional developments, but declined to comment on any specific discussions underway. The Jerusalem Post, which also reported the Saudi campaign on Thursday citing six European officials, said Riyadh stepped up the lobbying as Houthi attacks on the kingdom continued.

Source: Jerusalem Post via EuropeSays, Nov 12, 2026

In a move that was largely symbolic but signalled support inside Europe for a tougher stance, the European Parliament last month adopted a resolution calling for the EU to list the Houthis as a terrorist group. After a deadly Houthi missile strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport in October, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc stood in solidarity with Saudi Arabia.

Why it matters beyond Brussels

Joana de Deus Pereira, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told Reuters that European states wanted to show solidarity with Saudi Arabia but remained hesitant about a listing she said would have limited practical impact. Among the concerns she cited: the Houthis could retaliate by targeting European vessels near Yemen, and a designation could complicate the work of aid groups operating in Houthi-controlled areas. Yemen's coastline runs along the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical waterway linking Europe and Asia — and the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia included, is home to lakhs of Indian and Punjabi workers whose safety and remittances are directly affected whenever the Saudi-Yemen conflict escalates.

Saudi Arabia has for over a decade led a military coalition fighting the Houthis on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognised government, which the Houthis drove out of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. Riyadh and the Houthis agreed a truce in 2022, but it fell apart in July this year after the Houthis accused Riyadh of bombing Sanaa airport; since then, both sides have carried out cross-border attacks.

The Saudi push came on the same day the UN Security Council voted to extend its Yemen sanctions and arms embargo measures against the Houthis for another year. Read: UN Security Council extends Yemen sanctions, Houthi embargo