 Yemen's well-armed Houthis geared up for protracted conflict with U.S. The Yemen-based Houthi rebels from the Ansar-Allah movement are ready to engage in a protracted conflict with the Western coalition led by the U.S., even for a scenario in which the war between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip lasts for years, Nasser al-Din Amir, Houthi director of Ansar-Allah's Information Department, told Izvestia Media Outlet. That said, Washington has acknowledged the Houthi's robust military capabilities and compared the scale of combat to World War II. U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, Deputy Commander of the U.S. Defense Department's Central Command, said in an interview with CBS that World War II was the last time the U.S. Navy participated in combat of this scale and intensity. Indeed, Ansar-Allah's military advantage lies in the cost of the projectiles and drones they launch at commercial and military vessels Murad Arafi of the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies told Izvestia. Intensive launches from the grouping have cost the U.S. too much. The Houthis have a lot of room for maneuver given the area of the Red Sea and Arabian Sea. They know the terrain well and are well armed by Iran. The same goes for intelligence data, the expert said. According to Arafi, at first the West was banking on decreasing the group's military potential but with time it has become clear that this is no simple task. That said, the Ansar-Allah movement issued assurances that European vessels will not be targeted by its projectiles and drones. We will not strike the ships of the European coalition if they won't make any aggressive moves against Yemen. If the EU attempts to hinder us in fulfilling our tasks, where we are helping the Gaza Strip and blocking Israel, then we will consider it as meddling in our domestic affairs. Nasr al-Din Amr said.