NEW YORK, April 4. /TASS/. The US Defense Ministry recognizes that the US operation against Yemen's Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) is failing to achieve its goals and that the US would have to spend about $1 billion a month to continue it, The New York Times (NYT) reported, citing sources.
According to the officials, the Pentagon considers the US strikes on underground depots with ammunition, missiles, and drones to be ineffective. The Houthis have reinforced their underground structures and other facilities under attack, they added.
The US has already spent $200 million in three weeks on munitions for strikes against the Houthis, excluding the costs associated with sending additional forces at sea and in the air, as well as the deployment of Patriot and THAAD air defense systems, according to the newspaper's sources. Taking all expenses into account, the operation in Yemen is projected to cost the US $1 billion per month, and the Pentagon will soon need to request additional funding from Congress.
"We have already begun seeing the effects of the heavy strikes against the Houthis. For instance, ballistic missile attacks from the Houthis against Israel are down in the last week," a senior Pentagon official told NYT.
On March 15, US President Donald Trump authorized military action against the Houthis, who control about one-third of Yemen’s territory. He attributed the decision to Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The operation involves the US aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman, which is based in the Red Sea. It regularly strikes Ansar Allah-controlled territory in Yemen. US Air Force B-2 strategic bombers have also conducted precision strikes against fortified underground weapons storage locations.
After the intensification of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Ansar Allah movement vowed to shell Israel and not allow any ships associated with it to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Since late 2023, the Yemeni Houthis have regularly attacked warships and civilian vessels in the Red Sea, explaining that these actions were their way of showing solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip.