President Trump said this week That Iranian supported Houthhi militants in Yemen were “decimated by relentless strikes” ordered on March 15.

But this is not what Pentagon and military officials speak to Congress and Allied countries privately.

In closed briefings in recent days, Pentagon officials have admitted that only a limited success has come to destroy the huge, mainly underground arsenals of rockets, drones and launches, mostly underground arsenals, according to congress helpers and allies.

Officials who have settled on confidential assessments of the damage say that bombing is constantly more difficult than the strikes conducted by the Administration of Biden and much greater than what the Ministry of Defense has publicly described.

But the Houthhi fighters, known for their resistance, enhanced many of their bunkers and other target places, frustrating the ability of Americans to disrupt the disorder Rocket attacks of militia against commercial ships in the Red SeaAccording to three congress and Allied officials, referring to the condition of anonymity to discuss operational things.

In just three weeks, the Pentagon has used ammunition worth $ 200 million, with huge operational and personal costs to arrange two aircraft, additional B-2 bombers and fighter jets, as well as Patriot and Thaad Air Defense in the Middle East, officials said.

The total cost could be more than $ 1 billion until next week, and the Pentagon will soon have to ask for additional funds from Congress, one US official said.

So many precise ammunitions are used, especially advanced long -term distant, that some planners in Pentagon unforeseen conditions become concerned about the overall stock of the Navy and the implication on any situation where the United States could reject the attempt to invade Taiwan by China.

US strikes, which was appointed by the Minister of Defense by Hegsetth Rough Rider’s surgery on the trunk that Theodore Roosevelt led in Cuba during the Spanish-American war could probably continue for six months, the officials said.

The Pentagon’s high clerk on Thursday encouraged estimates described by congress and Allied officials.

The senior official, who also spoke about the state of anonymity at discussing operational issues, said that the air attacks exceeded their goal in the initial stages of the campaign, interfering with the higher Houth leaders to communicate, limiting the group to a handful of inefficient counter -coins and setting up the conditions for subsequent stages, which he refused in addressing. “We are on the way,” the clerk said.

US officials said the strikes damaged Houthis’s command and control structure. Tulsi Gabbard, director of the National Intelligence Service, said in a statement that the strikes were “effective” in killing the top Houthhi leaders, which she did not identify, and said that the surgery was to reopen the Red Sea shipment.

“Intelligence estimates confirm that these hits have killed the top Houthhi leaders and destroyed several facilities that Houthis can use to produce advanced conventional weapons,” said Ms. Gabbard.

Strikes are at the center Debacle Including Mr. Hegsetha and other high members of Trump administration, in which these officials discussed the sensitive details of the initial attacks on bombing in Yemen on March 15th on a group chat on the commercial message application. Michael Waltz, a national security counselor, created a group, but accidentally added a journalist.

Trump officials say air and navy strikes are intended to press Houthhis to stop the attacks they have disturbed international shipping trail In the Red Sea for over a year.

The Bidana administration made strikes against Houthis, but in smaller and mainly against infrastructure and military places. Trump officials say current strikes are also focused on the killing of senior Houthhi officials.

“Everyone should recognize that we are doing the world a big service after these guys, because it cannot be continued,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week.

Trump’s administration did not say why he thought his group against the group would succeed after the annual effort of the bidel administration was largely failed to distract the attacks of the Houthhi, which also aimed at Israel.

“The administration must also explain to the Congress and the American people his expected path with regard to the failure of previous such efforts,” wrote Senators Jeff Merkley, Oregon Democrat, and Rand Paul, a Republican Republikanac, wrote in the letter Mr. Trump this week.

Pentagon did not give details about attacks From March 17thwhen he said that the first day was affected by more than 30 goals of Houthhi.

A spokesman for the Central Command of the Army said on March 24 that the strikes “destroyed the facilities for command and controlled, the anti -aircraft defense systems, the manufacture of weapons and the weapon storage site.”

Senior Officer of the Ministry of Defense said on Thursday in response to the New York Times questions: “We have already started seeing the effects of severe blows against Houthis. For example, the attacks of ballistic rockets from Houthis against Israel have failed in the last week.”

Houthis, a senior official, said, “they are becoming more reactive because American air attacks degrade their ability and capacity.”

The senior official, who spoke about the state of anonymity to discuss operational issues, denied that the Pentagon administration told congress and Allied officials that the strikes could last six months, saying that it was “never discussed”.

Central Command Picture post On the social media of Jets, who spend missions against Houthis, but this has repeatedly refused to discover how many goals have been affected so far or identify several houti commanders, including a top rocket expert, says he has been killed.

Videos posted on the Central Command Social Networks show the types of longer F/A-18 Super Hornets Navy weapons. They also include a common weapon of AGM-154-bomb with Glide-guided GPS-I-and-launched cruise rockets.

Glide bombs, which carry 200 pounds of explosives per piece, can launch more than 70 nautical miles than their target. Cruiser rockets arranged by naval war planes can fly more than twice as much.

They are among the longest -standing aircraft weapons war planes available to use in this type of operation, and used together with the crushed Tomahawk rockets fired by accompanying warships.

The use of such a long weapon is a direct response to the threat that represented the Houthis air defense weapon, which broke several American military drones in the area. US commanders involved in Asian-Pacific planning are considered critical of any potential conflict with China.

The United States began a new offensive on March 15th in parts of northern Yemen controlled by Houthis. The naval attack of aircraft from Truman and aircraft fighters, flying from the Base in the Middle East, spent every day strikes against Houthi goals, US and Yemen’s officials said.

The initial strikes were the introductory salvo in what senior American officials said that the new offensive was against militants and messages to Iran, while Mr. Trump seeks a nuclear agreement with his government.

Pentagon has moved Patriot and Thaad Air Defense Systems to several Arab peoples concerned about Houthis escalation in the region. The United Arab Emirates provide logistics and advisory support to the US army in their campaign in Yemen, the US official said.

Saudi Arabia led the Emirates and other countries in the air attack campaign against Houthis for over six years, But stopped After failing to achieve any goals. Coalition led by Saudi kills many Yemeni civilians with a municipality that is shipped to the US.

Unlike President Joseph R. Biden Jr. -And, Mr. Trump has delegated the powers to hit the goals to regional and local commanders, allowing them to faster and more efficiently attack the Houthi website, commanders say.

Houthi officials say the hits hit the living spaces and buildings in the heart of the capital of Yemen, Sana, resulting in more than 60 civilian victims.

According to Report Posted on Thursday AirwayThe British organization that evaluates the claims of civil damage in conflict, women and four children were killed in one of the strikes on March 15.

Many attacks have taken place in populated areas, which the report says that “Trump’s administration chooses goals that are a more direct risk of civilians and may indicate a greater tolerance at the risk of civil damage.”

The US official said on Thursday that the Pentagon explores all the claims of civilian victims, adding that the army is largely ongoing to reduce the risk.

On the first day of the new offensive, Mr. Trump said on social media that Houthhi “led the relentless campaign of piracy, violence and terrorism against Americans, and other ships, aircraft and drones.”

Mr. Trump said this week To keep American strikes until Houthi “are no longer a threat to freedom of navigation.” He warned “real pain yet to come” if they did not stop.

March 15, Mr. Trump also singled out Iranian rulers.

“Iran: Support for Houthhi terrorists must end immediately!” He wrote. “It is not threatened by the American people, their president, who has received one of the greatest seats in the history of the president or the world’s shipping tape. If you do, be careful, because America will fully answer you.”

US intelligence agencies have struggled to identify and find hoti weapons systems, which are manufactured in underground factories and smuggling from Iran. At the end of 2024, the Biden Administration dedicated more aircraft aircraft to collect information on Houthi goals. Trump officials inherited this intelligence service, and Israel also gave targeted information, US officials said.

Saeed al-Batat contribute to reporting from Al Mukulla, Yemen and Julian E. Barnes from Washington.