Meanwhile, Asian buyers of U.S. crude intensify as an alternative to Hormuz transits: File Image/Pixabay

Oil prices inched up on Friday towards a weekly gain of about 4 percent, as U.S./Iran hostilities returned as the primary concern of traders and analysts, spurred by Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Bahrain condemning the Iranian attack on two tankers affiliated with the United Arab Emirates as they transited the Strait of Hormuz.

As of 0247 GMT, Brent rose 1 cent to $87.08 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose 6 cents to $81.31 per barrel.

While the four Middle Eastern countries declared full solidarity and rejected the Islamic republic's claim of control over the Hormuz, far more impactful at least from a strategic point of view (as well as a potential trading influence), was Washington's strategy against Iran viewed by some as potentially resulting in the country’s military regime finally devolving into chaos.

Specifically, on Thursday the U.S. warned it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely and increase economic pressure against Tehran as ceasefire talks have stalled.

U.S. treasury secretary Scott Bessent told media, "Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation of a country."

However, this caused some punits to despair: Bjarne Schieldrop, analyst at SEB Research, said,  "A return to normal flows ‌out of ⁠the Strait of Hormuz is now suddenly without any near-term hopes."

In other war-related oil news on Friday, at least four Asia-based refiners have increased buying U.S. crude supply this week as an alternative to Middle East crude that may not make the outbound journey through the Hormuz, according to traders.

The transaction include GS Caltex of South Korea buying 2 million barrels of Mars crude from Shell for delivery in November, at a premium of $13-14 above the Dubai October benchmark.

Also, Cosmo Energy Holdings, one of Japan's biggest refiners, bought Mars supply from Trafigura; and CPC Corp, the state-owned energy company of Taiwan, acquired 2 million barrels of WTI via a tender at a premium of around $8 to $9 per barrel to Dated Brent.