President Hassan Rouhani warned Tuesday that middlemen who have circumvented sanctions will need to "think of another job" as a potential final nuclear deal brings changes to Iran's economy.

The remarks, at a ceremony in Tehran ahead of Labor Day on Friday, signalled Rouhani's intent to tackle a black market that has thrived in Iran after official trading routes were cut off.

U.S. top diplomat John Kerry on Monday said he would urge his Iranian counterpart to help ease the violence in Yemen, warning the country's future should not be decided by "external parties."

Kerry was due to meet later with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as negotiations on a nuclear deal move into a final phase.

The U.N. Security Council went into closed-door consultations on Monday on the crisis in Yemen and to hear former envoy Jamal Benomar give a final report.

The Moroccan diplomat resigned earlier this month after losing the support of Gulf countries for his mediation efforts as Shiite Huthi rebels pushed their offensive.

The United Nations envoy to war-torn Syria said Friday that he will know by the end of June if there is any appetite among the opposing sides to find a peaceful way out of the conflict.

During closed discussions with the 15-member U.N. Security Council, Staffan de Mistura acknowledged that the "odds and conditions for launching a political transition are no better now than six months ago," diplomats at the briefing said.

Yemen's influential former president urged his rebel allies Friday to heed U.N. demands to withdraw from territory seized in months of fighting, so Saudi-led air strikes can end and reconciliation begin.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, who still holds sway over army units allied with the Iran-backed Huthi rebels who now control large swathes of the country, had welcomed this month's Security Council resolution as a way to "stop bloodshed" in Yemen.

Actress Angelina Jolie on Friday criticized the U.N. Security Council's failure to end the war in Syria, as she appealed for urgent help for the growing ranks of Syrian refugees.

The Hollywood star spoke at the council in her role as special envoy of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which has seen her visit camps hosting victims of the Syrian crisis 11 times.

The U.N. Security Council on Friday warned that upcoming elections in Burundi could turn violent and vowed to take action against those who are fomenting unrest.

The 15-member council called on the government and the opposition to refrain from acts of violence and intimidation ahead of the May parliamentary vote and the presidential polls that will follow.

Intense bombing by a Saudi-led coalition hit Yemen again Friday, three weeks into an air war against Iranian-backed rebels, as al-Qaida seized more ground in the chaos amid U.N. calls for peace.

Columns of smoke rose over an arms depot targeted by warplanes east of the capital Sanaa, witnesses said.

The Saudi-led coalition waging air strikes in Yemen takes its offensive to the diplomatic stage Tuesday, seeking a U.N. demand that rebels retreat and an arms embargo and sanctions against their leaders.

The draft U.N. Security Council resolution put forward by Jordan and Gulf countries could be blocked by veto-wielding Russia which has friendly relations with Iran, an ally of the Shiite Huthi rebels.

Mali's foreign minister asked the U.N. Security Council on Thursday to ratchet up pressure on a holdout rebel group standing in the way of a landmark peace deal.

Abdoulaye Diop urged the 15-member council to endorse the Algerian-brokered draft peace accord and to threaten sanctions against those who block it.