DHAKA: A convoy of Iranian ships headed toward Yemen is now moving away from the war-torn country, days after the US deployed warships to the Yemeni coast.

Two US defense officials say, CNN reports on Saturday.

One of those American ships, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, has also been redirected away from Yemen to the Persian Gulf.

The Iranian ships turned away from Yemen on Thursday and on Friday continued to move northeast, back in the direction of Iran.

‘I think it’s fair to say that this appears to be a de-escalation of some of the tensions that were being discussed earlier in the week,’ Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren told reporters Friday.

He also said that there had been no communication between Iranian and US forces at any point.

Multiple US officials had told CNN that the American ships had been deployed to the region to dissuade the nine-vessel Iranian convoy, which included armed ships, from docking in Yemen, where Iran has been supporting and arming the Houthi rebellion.

One of the defense officials who told CNN of the Iranian convoy’s movements called the turnaround a ‘promising sign’.

BDST: 2117 HRS, APR 25, 2015
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