A Pentagon official says tension has abated over the prospect of Iranian cargo ships delivering advanced weaponry to Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Iranian convoy is now headed back in the direction of Iran.

Col. Steve Warren is a Pentagon spokesman. He says he cannot be sure where the Iranian convoy is going. But Warren says it reversed its original course and is proceeding well to the northeast of Yemen in the Arabian Sea.

Warren says the prospect of a confrontation between Iranian and American or coalition ships off the coast of Yemen has receded. While the Iranian convoy was headed toward Yemen earlier this week, the question arose whether the U.S. would forcibly intercede before the ships arrived at a Yemeni port such as Aden.

(AP)