GLOBAL OIL SUPPLY UP BUT STILL BELOW PRE-WAR LEVELS

The Strait of Hormuz handled about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war. Tehran has since largely taken control of the waterway, forcing a stalemate in its confrontation with the world's most powerful military.

Under the interim deal, the US ended its naval blockade of Iranian ports, and Iran agreed to ensure safe passage of commercial vessels.

However, this week Washington accused Iranian forces of attacking three tankers in the area and struck military sites in Iran in response. While Iran has not claimed responsibility for those attacks, analysts say Tehran uses such actions to gain leverage in negotiations.

Iran then attacked US military sites in Gulf states on Thursday.

The UN shipping agency's governing council condemned efforts by Iran to impose sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran's "unilateral decision" to create a body to control traffic through it.

Prior to this week's attacks, daily tanker traffic had risen to its highest since the war began, averaging 40 ships transiting the strait. That was still far off the pre-conflict average of 125 to 140 daily sailings.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said when they launched the war that their aims were to end Iran's nuclear activities, alongside other objectives.

Tammy Bruce, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, raised that issue once more on Friday and again mentioned talks, telling a Security Council meeting: "The door to diplomacy remains open, and is our preferred path to resolve concerns related to Iran's nuclear program."

Iran, which has regularly denied accusations it is working on a nuclear bomb, has so far retained its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, and its ability to threaten neighbours with missiles and drones.

Also on Friday, the US Treasury Department said it imposed sanctions on Ali Ansari, an Iranian banker and businessman based in Dubai who had previously been sanctioned by Britain for his role in financially supporting the activities of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, among other individuals and entities.