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European Commission (EU) President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned the deadly Houthi attack on Riyadh airport, describing it as a dangerous escalation and calling on the Iran-backed group to stop targeting civilians.
In a statement posted online on Sunday, von der Leyen warned that attacks by groups backed by Iran were fuelling regional violence and threatening major transport and energy infrastructure, with consequences extending beyond the Middle East.
She demanded an immediate end to attacks on civilians and expressed the European Union’s support for Saudi Arabia.
“These attacks by Iran’s proxies are pushing the region into a spiral of violence. They are destabilizing crucial global transport and energy nodes with shockwave sent through the world. These murderous attacks at civilians must stop at once,” von der Leyen wrote online.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, also denounced the strike, describing it as an appalling act of terror. She said there could be no justification for indiscriminate attacks against civilians or civilian infrastructure.
“There can be no justification for indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure,” she posted.
Kallas disclosed that she was in close contact with her Saudi counterpart following the incident. She also stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the EU’s naval mission in the Red Sea and a maritime coalition led by Riyadh.
She said closer coordination between the two operations was vital to addressing security threats to shipping and other civilian infrastructure in the region.
