Two high ranking U.S. officials, Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Daniel B. Shapiro, will offer testimony at a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Tuesday on the threat to maritime trade in the Red Sea posed by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Houthi insurgents, understood to be supplied by the Iranian government, have been interfering in recent months with shipping through the vital sea lanes connecting the Indo-Pacific region and Mediterranean.
The Houthis’ aggression is ostensibly in protest of Israeli actions in Gaza, although vessels with little or no connection to that conflict have also been targeted.
The hearing is slated to begin at 2:15 p.m. EST.
Watch the live video above.