Resolution on the escalation of Houthi attacks and implications for regional security

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the escalation of Houthi attacks and implications for regional security.

The text adopted in plenary was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR and Renew groups.

The Iran-backed Houthi movement, part of Iran’s ‘axis of resistance’, saw its fragile truce with Saudi Arabia collapse in July 2026 amid the wider regional war involving Iran. Since then, Houthi attacks have targeted at least 10 Saudi cities and regions, striking civilians, civilian infrastructure, economic assets and energy facilities with ballistic and cruise missiles and drones. The renewed conflict has displaced more than 200 000 people since August 2026, the highest level of new displacement since the 2022 truce, in addition to an estimated 5.2 million internally displaced persons.

Parliament condemned the Houthi missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, particularly the deliberate targeting of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and other civilian airports, energy infrastructure, schools and residential areas, as well as previous attacks against Israel and the United Arab Emirates. It called on the Houthis to immediately cease all hostilities in Yemen and abroad, abandon territorial ambitions, end all attacks against shipping and acts of repression against the Yemeni population. Parliament urged all parties to protect civilian infrastructure and humanitarian personnel, ensure access to essential services and humanitarian assistance, agree on an immediate nationwide ceasefire and resume negotiations.

Parliament called for a coherent EU approach combining maritime security, conflict prevention, humanitarian assistance and diplomatic engagement, with the EU actively supporting mediation efforts. It urged Iran to end all transfers and support to the Houthis and stressed that lasting stability in the Middle East requires the disarmament and demobilisation of militias and non-state armed groups and the restoration of the state’s monopoly on the legitimate use of force. Parliament called on the Council, the Commission and the Member States to adopt a comprehensive strategy to reduce Iran’s destabilising influence and work with regional partners to disrupt weapons supply routes to Iran-backed groups.

Parliament urged the Council to add the Houthi movement – ​​including its military and political wings, its leadership, and its military and security apparatus – to the EU list of Terrorist Organisations. The resolution called for the dismantling of all funding channels for the Houthi movement, including oil and commodity smuggling and illicit money transfers, and for the freezing of all funds and economic resources belonging to the Houthis and their facilitators. For its part, the Commission is called on to assess the inclusion of Houthi-linked financing in the EU’s anti-money laundering framework.

Members called on the Council to extend restrictive measures to all persons and entities involved in the supply of weapons and components to the Houthis.

The Commission is called on to urgently assess the consequences for EU energy security, inflation, supply chains, maritime transport and European ports, and to present contingency measures, including the diversification of energy supplies and the reduction of the EU’s dependence on imported fossil fuels. Along with the Member States, it should put forward measures providing targeted support to households and SMEs and to accelerate the EU’s energy independence.

In addition, the resolution stressed the vital role of the EU’s defensive ASPIDES maritime security operation, welcomed its expanded mandate, and called on Member States to provide the operation with additional, suitably equipped naval and air assets. It also called for enhanced cooperation between the EU and its Gulf partners in security and defence. Parliament supports the efforts by the Member States and the United Kingdom to provide air defence support in the region, including France’s support in securing the Yanbu oil terminal.

The resolution also called:

- for a negotiated maritime safety arrangement for the Red Sea.

- on all parties to allow and facilitate full, safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access;

- for the EU and its Member States to increase humanitarian aid, to address shortfalls caused by cuts in international funding, including through the forthcoming Global Europe instrument.

Members strongly condemned the recruitment and use of children by the Houthis and by all armed forces and armed groups and condemned the systematic violations of women’s rights in Yemen.

Lastly, Parliament regretted the delay in the presentation of a comprehensive EU Middle East strategy and called on the Commission and the VP/HR to present it urgently, with the full involvement of Parliament.