Investing.com-- Oil prices pared early losses on Monday and rose slightly after Iranian media reported that no ships had transited Hormuz on Sunday.
Continued hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis also kept oil's risk premium in play.
Brent oil futures for January rose slightly to $98.35 a barrel by 23:24 ET (04:24 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.3% to $90.83 a barrel.
Crude had initially fallen after U.S. President Donald Trump said it was "highly unlikely" he will need to order more attacks on Iran.
Oil also saw some bargain buying after an over 16% drop last week, as a Democrat sweep of both chambers of U.S. Congress spurred increased bets that lawmakers will pressure Trump into ending the Iran conflict.
But tensions in the Middle East persisted, with Iran stating over the weekend that navigational aid systems in southern Hormuz had been destroyed, halting traffic through "unauthorized" routes in Hormuz.
This was after reports said three oil tankers had caught fire in Hormuz over the weekend, with Iran also stating that a tanker had hit mines in Hormuz.
The development kept markets largely on guard over continued disruptions in Middle East supplies, despite the results of the U.S. midterm elections driving some hopes for de-escalation.
Trump, in a Sunday interview with CNN, said it was "highly unlikely" he will need to order more U.S. attacks on Iran, as long as there was progress in negotiations with Tehran.
Still, Trump's comments also came as the U.S. began an operation to crack down on Iran's trade of advanced weapons and sanctioned materials through its land borders and the Caspian Sea.
"Task Force Iron Gate is in full force and effect in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump said in a social media post. "Coupled with history's greatest Naval Blockade, very little gets into, or out of, Iran!," Trump said.
Washington and Tehran have been in a stalemate for nearly nine months, with heightened tensions between the two causing increased disruptions in crude supplied from the Middle East.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group also persisted, with the latter seen attempting to attack oil giant Aramco's corporate office in Riyadh on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have consistently traded attacks since at least mid-2026, with the Yemeni group also declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh.
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