Following a destructive missile attack on a Dutch-flagged vessel, the Netherlands is formally urging the EU to designate the Iran-aligned Houthis as a terrorist organization, triggering severe financial sanctions.
The brazen, destructive aggression of Yemen’s Houthi rebels has finally sparked a decisive international call for action. The Netherlands has formally and urgently requested that the European Union designate the Iranian-aligned group, Ansar Allah, as a terrorist organization after their calculated missile strike on the Dutch-flagged cargo vessel Minervagracht in the Gulf of Aden.
This reprehensible act, carried out on Monday, seriously injured two sailors and forced the helicopter evacuation of 19 crew members from the Amsterdam-based Spliethoff vessel. Hit by a cruise missile in international waters, the Minervagracht sustained significant damage and was set ablaze—a clear escalation of the threat to global maritime safety.
The Houthis, who shamelessly claimed responsibility, justified the strike by baselessly accusing the ship’s owner of “violating the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine.” This demonstrates that the attacks are not just piracy; they are a campaign of political terrorism aimed at disrupting freedom of navigation and targeting perceived enemies of Iran and its proxies.
As the Dutch Foreign Ministry rightly stated, “The Houthis have long posed a serious threat to freedom of navigation.”
Adding the Houthis to the EU’s terrorist list would unleash powerful economic consequences, specifically triggering sanctions and the freezing of assets. This is the necessary, robust financial countermeasure to cripple a group that has repeatedly terrorized the seas, having also sunk the Magic Seas and Eternity C cargo ships earlier this year.
Despite previous US strikes in March and an earlier agreement to halt attacks on US ships, the Houthis made it chillingly clear that they would continue their attacks on Israel and on ships linked to Israel. The strike on the Minervagracht, following an attack on the Israeli-owned tanker Scarlet Ray in September, confirms that their terrorist campaign persists, demanding an unequivocal, united EU response. The time for deliberation is over; the Houthis must be formally designated as the maritime terrorists they are.
