Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani urged the Iran-backed Houthi militias to seriously consider the peace proposals presented to them by United Nations special envoy Martin Griffiths regarding the Hodeidah province. He told the German news agency dpa that these proposals “could be the last.” He lamented that Griffiths’ negotiations with the Houthis have not yielded any serious proposal despite all of the envoy’s optimism. “Despite their violation of all vows and agreements, we are still extending our hands to peace” with the Houthis, Yamani added. He also called on the militias to cease waiting for foreign support “because it will not be coming anymore.” “Our forces are advancing and you are still counting on support from Iran. This is an illusion and dream and you must wake up from it,” the minister stated. “The Iran of today is not like the Iran of yesterday. It can no longer make one move because it is caught between the American and regional escalation against it and the mounting internal tensions that have been sparked by its deteriorating economy,” he noted. In addition, he slammed Iran’s recent threats to block oil shipments in the Hormuz Strait to confront the American sanctions threat. “No one can imagine that the international community would allow the closure of the strait,” the minister stressed. “If it does go through with its threat, then that will mark the actual beginning of the end of the Iranian leadership that is only concerned with its sectarian policy of expansion,” he remarked. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and some senior military commanders have threatened to disrupt oil shipments from the Gulf countries if Washington tries to strangle Tehran’s oil exports. Carrying one-third of the world’s seaborne oil every day, the Strait of Hormuz links Middle East crude producers to key markets in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond. The Iranian threats drew condemnation from the United States and a rebuke from China, which called on Tehran to exert more efforts to achieve harmony with its neighbors and region.