Brussels – The European Parliament wants the EU to designate the Houthis as “terrorists” and include them in the EU terrorist list. By a show of hands, Parliament approved a resolution calling for decisive action against the Yemeni rebel group, considered to be close to the Iranian government. MEPs condemned the attacks on vessels passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the destruction of energy infrastructure in the Red Sea, and, even more so, the missile and drone attacks in Saudi Arabia, considered contrary to international law and to all logic.
MEPs believe that no distinction should be made between the armed and non-armed wings. Parliament specifies that the request for inclusion on the EU list of terrorists concerns the “Houthi movement, including its military and political wings, leadership and military and security apparatus”, thereby imposing a total crackdown on the Yemeni group.
MEPs also call for “all channels of financing for the Houthi movement to be dismantled and for the EU to freeze all funds”, in what amounts to an indictment of the Islamic Republic and the regime of the ayatollahs. The European Parliament plenary session condemns the “destabilising role of the Iranian regime, which poses a major threat to the security and stability of the wider region and provides the Houthis with weapons, missile and drone technology, training, and financing.”
MEPs also condemn “the coordination between the Houthis, Hezbollah and other Iran-backed armed groups.” This passage reinforces the call to include the Yemeni rebels on the list of terrorist organisations, given that Hezbollah’s military wing is already considered a terrorist organisation, just like the Islamic Revolutionary Guards in Iran (the Pasdaran).
To ensure the greatest possible regional maritime stability and security, MEPs stress the need to maintain and strengthen the ASPIDES operation; the European Parliament welcomes the extension of its mandate and calls on Member States to provide the operation with additional, suitably equipped naval and air assets.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
