DUSHANBE, April 20, 2015, Asia-Plus – International media outlets report Iran last week proposed a peace plan for Yemen and called for an end to Saudi-led air strikes against Houthi rebels, but the move was likely to draw a cool response from Riyadh.

According to Reuters, militiamen loyal to deposed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said last week they had pushed back Houthi fighters at several points in southern Yemen, including districts of the port city of Aden, the focal point of a conflict that entered its most dangerous phase three weeks ago.

Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Arab allies have reportedly been bombing the Houthis since March 25 to drive them from Aden, the most important city still loyal to Hadi.

The Houthis, northern-based Shi''ite Moslems, seized control of Yemen''s capital Sanaa in September, confining Hadi to the presidential residence.  He fled to Aden in February then escaped to Riyadh last month as Houthi forces closed in on the city.

The conflict, though rooted in local rivalries, has become a proxy battlefield for regional powers Sunni-ruled Saudi and mainly Shi''ite Iran.  Saudi Arabia and other powers accuse Iran of arming the Houthis and interfering in Yemeni affairs.  Tehran denies giving military support to the Houthis.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaking in Madrid on April 14, put forward a peace proposal involving a ceasefire, humanitarian assistance, a dialogue between Yemeni factions, and a broad-based government.

"This issue should be resolved by the Yemenis. Iran and Saudi Arabia need to talk but we cannot talk to determine the future of Yemen," he told a news conference, according to Reuters.

Zarif also said the air strikes “are simply not the answer.  All operations should end on land and from the air.”

On April 13, Zarif reportedly called for a new government in Yemen and offered to assist in a political transition.

The offer was unlikely to please Riyadh, which says it is protecting Hadi and his government-in-exile from the Houthis.

But as the world'' largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia is also unhappy at the prospect of protracted upheaval in its southern neighbor.

Hadi and his Saudi backers also face fierce opposition from soldiers loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has teamed up with his old foes the Houthis.

Al Qaeda, which has staged suicide bombings against the Houthis, also poses a threat to Yemen''s stability.  The United States has poured aid and personnel into the country in recent years as part of its war on Islamist militants, but its military teams evacuated last month, Reuters reported.