Houthi rebels are going to keep lobbing missiles at ships in the Red Sea ‘for some time,’ US intel chief says [Video]

For months, the Houthis have relentlessly fired missiles and drones at merchant and Western naval vessels in key Middle Eastern waterways.

While American and partner forces have managed to degrade the Iran-backed rebels’ capabilities to an extent, through strikes directly in Yemen, the US intelligence chief testified this week that these attacks aren’t going to slow down anytime soon.

“Our assessment is essentially that it is going to remain active for some time,” Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on Thursday in response to questions from US lawmakers about how long the Houthi threat will continue.

Speaking to the Senate Committee on Armed Services during a hearing on global threats, Haines said her assessment is, in part, because Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi sees domestic political advantage for some of his actions, and he is interested in advancing his reputation across the Middle East through the attacks.