The European Union, in a statement, announced that the recent threats by Yemen’s Houthis to impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia and to attack a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea are “dangerously escalating” tensions and a direct threat to the stability of the region. The statement described the attack on the tanker as “unacceptable” and “illegal.”

The European Union urged the Houthis to stop actions that endanger international shipping security and the lives of sailors, and to comply with international law and UN Security Council resolutions. The EU also emphasized that its naval mission to protect freedom of navigation, “Aspides,” will continue in the Red Sea and international waters around it.