Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels will likely be a persistent problem for the U.S. in the future, a senior U.S. military official said on Tuesday, even after Washington and the Houthis reached an agreement last month that ended a U.S. air campaign against the rebels.
"The Houthis are likely to be a persistent problem... that we'll be dealing with in the future a few times again," Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich, director for operations of the Joint Staff, who has been nominated to lead the U.S. military's European Command, told lawmakers.
Last month, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would stop bombing the Houthis, who had been firing at U.S. warships and commercial vessels off Yemen's coast. The rebels in return stopped firing at U.S. ships under the agreement.
Last week, the Houthis said they would again target U.S. ships in the Red Sea if Washington became involved in Israeli attacks on Iran. Still, they have not resumed attacks after the U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. On Monday, Trump announced an Israel-Iran ceasefire deal.