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Netherlands to Join EU Push to Blacklist IRGC as New Report Reveals Iranian Weapons Smuggling to Houthis

Iranians carry a model of a missile during a celebration following an IRGC attack on Israel, in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

The Netherlands will join Germany’s initiative to push the European Union to declare Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization, according to Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

The revelation came as the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) released a new report detailing how the IRGC has been smuggling weapons to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a US-designated terrorist group that has been disrupting global trade with its attacks on shipping in the busy Red Sea corridor.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp “announced that the Netherlands will join the initiative to promote a decision in the EU to declare the IRGC a terrorist organization,” Katz tweeted on Wednesday. “We will continue to join hands in our fight against terror.”

Katz included a photo of the two diplomats meeting at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) summit in Washington, DC this week.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, right, met with his Dutch counterpart at the NATO summit. The Netherlands agreed to support Germany’s proposal to blacklist the IRGC. Photo: Screenshot

The foreign ministers also discussed “the situation in Gaza, the West Bank, Hezbollah, and Iran,” according to Veldkamp.

Last week, the EU reportedly accepted Germany’s request to consider labeling the IRGC a terrorist organization.

Denmark, Sweden, and the Czech Republic also agreed to support Germany’s initiative to blacklist the IRGC, according to reports.

Consequences of the EU designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization could include the freezing of its financial assets, criminal prosecutions for ranking members, travel bans, and bans on arms shipments across EU countries.

By blacklisting the IRGC, the EU would join a growing list of nations who view the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Last month, Canada announced that it would list the IRGC as a terrorist group.

“Listing the IRGC builds on the government of Canada’s broader efforts to ensure that there is no impunity for Iran’s unlawful actions and its support of terrorism,” Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc said in a statement.

In 2019, the Trump administration in the US designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization, highlighting the Iranian regime’s use of the IRGC to “engage in terrorist activities since its inception 40 years ago.”

The US designation “recognizes the reality that Iran is not only a state sponsor of terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft,” then-US President Donald Trump said in a statement at the time. “The IRGC is the Iranian government’s primary means of directing and implementing its global terrorist campaign.”

The US government further detailed the IRGC’s activities across the Middle East on Wednesday, when the DIA released a new report highlighting how the IRGC has been “smuggling weapons and weapons components to the Houthis.”

The report noted that the Houthis used IRGC-supplied ballistic and cruise missiles to conduct over a hundred land attacks on Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and within Yemen, as well as dozens of attacks on merchant shipping. 

Since 2015, there have been over 20 successful interdictions against Iranian smuggling operations by coalition partners including the US, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and France. 

According to the DIA’s report, coalition partners seized hundreds of illicit arms and material including rocket engines used in missiles, guidance systems, light arms, explosives, cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and anti-tank missiles. The report documented how the Houthis have deployed these types of Iranian-produced arms in strikes against merchant shipping and US allies.

An aerial view of the Barbados-flagged ship True Confidence ablaze following a Houthi missile attack at sea, March 6, 2024, in this handout photo. Photo: DVIDS/Handout via REUTERS

Recently, the Houthis launched their longest-range attack to date against a Liberian-flagged ship transiting the Bab el-Mandeb strait near the Arabian Sea. Although none of ship’s crew were injured and the ship itself was unharmed, the attack highlighted the increasing capabilities of the Iranian-supported Houthi rebels.

The US and Britain returned the Houthi militia to a list of terrorist groups this year as its attacks on vessels in and around the Red Sea, a key trade route, disrupted global shipping, raising the cost of shipping and insurance and having a major economic impact. Shipping firms have been forced in many cases to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa to avoid passing near Yemen.

The rebel Houthi movement — whose slogan is “death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory to Islam” — has also claimed responsibility for attempted drone and missile strikes targeting Israel.

Since Hamas’ massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, which launched the ongoing war in Gaza, Houthi terrorists in Yemen have routinely launched ballistic missiles towards Israel’s southern city of Eilat. Each missile attack was quickly intercepted by Israel using its air defense systems.

In May, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi said the terrorist group will target all ships heading to Israeli ports, even if they do not pass through the Red Sea

In January, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the Houthi attacks on Israel and regional shipping. “We hope, God willing, these efforts, acts of resistance, and activities will continue until victory,” he said, adding that the Houthis “have truly done a great job.”

Beyond Israeli targets, the Houthis have threatened and in some cases actually attacked US and British ships, leading the two Western allies to launch retaliatory strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

The post Netherlands to Join EU Push to Blacklist IRGC as New Report Reveals Iranian Weapons Smuggling to Houthis first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hezbollah Says Lebanon Move on Army Plan Is ‘Opportunity,’ Urges Israel to Commit to Ceasefire

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and members of the cabinet stand as they attend a cabinet session to discuss the army’s plan to disarm Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, September 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati told Reuters on Saturday that the group considered Friday’s cabinet session on an army plan to establish a state monopoly on arms “an opportunity to return to wisdom and reason, preventing the country from slipping into the unknown.”

Lebanon’s cabinet on Friday welcomed a plan by the army that would disarm Hezbollah and said the military would begin executing it, without setting a timeframe for implementation and cautioning that the army had limited capabilities.

But it said continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon would hamper the army’s progress. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lebanese information minister Paul Morcos stopped short of saying the cabinet had formally approved the plan.

Qmati told Reuters that Hezbollah had reached its assessment based on the government’s declaration on Friday that further implementation of a US roadmap on the matter was dependent on Israel’s commitment. He said that without Israel halting strikes and withdrawing its troops from southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s implementation of the plan should remain “suspended until further notice.”

Lebanon’s cabinet last month tasked the army with coming up with a plan that would establish a state monopoly on arms and approved a US roadmap aimed at disarming Hezbollah in exchange for a halt to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.

Qmati said that Hezbollah “unequivocally rejected” those two decisions and expected the Lebanese government to draw up a national defense strategy.

Israel last week signaled it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if the army took action to disarm Hezbollah. Meanwhile, it has continued its strikes, killing four people on Wednesday.

A national divide over Hezbollah’s disarmament has taken center stage in Lebanon since last year’s devastating war with Israel, which upended a power balance long dominated by the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group.

Lebanon is under pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals to disarm the group. But Hezbollah has pushed back, saying it would be a serious misstep to even discuss disarmament while Israel continues its air strikes on Lebanon and occupies swathes of territory in the south.

Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem last month raised the specter of civil war, warning the government against trying to confront the group and saying street protests were possible.

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UK Police Arrest Dozens at Latest Protest for Banned Palestine Action

Demonstrators attend the “Lift The Ban” rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

British police arrested dozens more people on Saturday under anti-terrorism laws for demonstrating in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group banned by the government as a terrorist organization.

Britain banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes. The group accuses Britain’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

Police have arrested hundreds of Palestine Action supporters in recent weeks under anti-terrorism legislation, including over 500 in just one day last month, many of them over the age of 60.

On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered near parliament in central London to protest against the ban on Saturday, with many holding up signs that said: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

London’s Metropolitan Police said officers had begun arresting those expressing support for Palestine Action. Police did not say how many arrests were made but a Reuters witness said dozens of people were detained.

Palestine Action’s ban, or proscription, puts the group alongside al-Qaeda and ISIS and makes it a crime to support or belong to the organization, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

“I can be unequivocal, if you show support for Palestine Action – an offense under the Terrorism Act – you will be arrested,” Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said on Friday. “We have the officer numbers, custody capacity and all other resources to process as many people as is required.”

Human rights groups have criticized Britain’s decision to ban the group as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.

The government has accused Palestine Action of causing millions of pounds worth of criminal damage and says the ban does not prevent other pro-Palestinian protests.

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Macron’s Meeting with American Jewry ‘Won’t Happen’ Amid Palestinian Recognition Drive, Surge in Antisemitism

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference in Paris, France, June 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

i24 NewsFrench President Emmanuel Macron attempted to set up a meeting with American Jewish leaders later this month on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

i24NEWS has learned that the meeting won’t happen, firstly because Macron was only available for the meeting ahead of the UN General Assembly during Rosh Hashanah, and yet, a person invited to meet with Macron and who has knowledge of the discussions told i24NEWS the sit-down simply wasn’t going to happen, anyway.

“I think the organizations, for the most part, would not have participated,” the person said, adding that AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee would have likely received invitations, among other entities.

“The guy has a 15% popularity rating in France. It’s not our job to help him out,” the person said.

Asked by i24NEWS whether Macron’s push for greater Palestinian state recognition or his lack of action in tackling antisemitism at home led to the stance of organized American Jewry, the person said it’s more of “the climate” which allows one to say ‘Look, the American Jews met with me,’ regardless of the content.”

The person said they are sure, if a meeting would have happened, that everybody in the room would have taken a hard line with Macron, including his “statements on Israel, the failure to respond to antisemitism” and France’s announcement this summer that it will recognize a Palestinian state later this month, and is leading an effort to get more countries to do the same.

But, the person told i24NEWS they are convinced that, in the end, while no final decision actually had to be taken, there was enough pressure that a consensus would have been reached to decline the meeting.

Of the timing of Rosh Hashanah allowing for leadership to not be forced to officially say no to Macron, the person said “G-d saves us every time.”

Another source familiar with the matter noted that it cannot be ruled out that Macron may eventually succeed in arranging a meeting with certain representatives, as the organizations are not a single unified body. However, he is unlikely to be welcomed by the overwhelming majority of groups representing American Jewry.

i24NEWS has also learned that French President Emmanuel Macron explored the possibility of visiting Israel ahead of the convention, but was advised by the Prime Minister’s Office that the timing was inappropriate. The message came as Macron continues to push for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move Israel strongly opposes. Sources further told i24NEWS that Israel is weighing additional retaliatory measures against Macron, including the potential closure of the French consulate in Jerusalem, which primarily serves Palestinians in the West Bank.

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