The ceasefire between the US and the Houthis announced by US President Donald Trump last week came due to the operation’s costs and dangers to servicemen and equipment, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing US officials.
Operation Rough Rider, which began on March 15, during which the US said it struck over 1,000 targets, cost $1 billion in its first month, the NYT noted.
According to the report, CENTCOM defined the success of the operation by the amount of bombs dropped, while Intelligence officials noted the Houthis could re-establish themselves despite “some degradation.”
Additional factors that came into play in Trump’s decision were the fact that the Iranian-backed terror group almost downed several American F-16 and F-35 jets.
A crew member was also injured in the two incidents in which jets that had been on the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier fell into the Red Sea.
In addition, the operation forced the US to use a large amount of precise munitions, which led some officials at the Pentagon to fear ramifications would the US would need to operate in a scenario in which China would invade Taiwan.
Joint Israeli-US strike
Last week, a ballistic missile launched by the Yemen-based terror group crashed near Ben-Gurion Airport, wounding several.
Israel subsequently struck Houthi targets in Yemen, in a joint US strike.
Trump later said the US would halt its bombing of Houthi targets, stating the Houthis had agreed to stop targeting US ships. The Houthis said the deal reached with the US does not include Israel.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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