“I should like to invite all the countries directly affected by the developments in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the Coalition for Hope meaning Hormuz Peace Endeavor,” stated President Rouhani.

Analysts have said the Trump administration remains unlikely to sanction a major Chinese entity, even as imports of Iranian crude continue, due to the impact on the global economy if the trade dispute between the two nations drags on.

To circumvent U.S. banking and financial sanctions, Iran’s rulers have built up a network of traders, companies, exchange offices, and money collectors in different countries,

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced it has joined the International Maritime Security Construct to secure the Mideast's waterways.

The alliance protects the interests of its members and their merchant ships when passing through maritime corridors. Its operation area covers the Strait of Hormuz, Bab Al Mandab, the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Gulf.

Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh stressed the non-political nature of oil, saying the US was using oil as a weapon which was not the right approach.

The US made another request to import-dependent Japan to join the coalition, and leaders are expected to discuss it at the UN General Assembly in New York next week.

The United States will continue to impose sanctions on whoever purchases Iran’s oil or conducts business with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and no oil waivers will be re-issued, a U.S. official said on Sunday.

President Hassan Rouhani has stressed Iran's determination to take the third step towards reducing Iran’s obligations to the Joint Comprehensive of Plan of Action(JCPOA)

“Iran has repeatedly stated that it will resume full implementation of its commitments to the JCPOA only when it can freely sell its oil and fully access its oil revenues. France’s initiative is exactly about this issue,” Araghchi said.

The US has said it intend to bring Iran's oil exports down to zero. In July Iranian crude and condensates exports totaled around 450,000 b/d, which was less than half of the May export figure of 910,000 b/d,

Brian Hook, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, said Wednesday that the U.S. will “continue to drive up the costs” for Tehran’s efforts to develop ballistic missiles and take other actions soon after the Treasury Department imposed new restrictions on a shipping network controlled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"Western sanctions have helped deepen Russia-China energy links as Chinese entities have emerged as a source of capital, which in turn has facilitated Chinese financing of the Yamal LNG project as well as the conclusion of the Power of Siberia pipeline," Dr Michal Meidan, director of the China Energy Program at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, said.

Foremost among the areas to be patrolled is the Strait of Hormuz, between Oman and Iran, through which about one-fifth of the world’s seaborne crude flows out of the Gulf.

The UK's Royal Navy will work with the US to assure the security of merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the Ministry of Defence said.