Oil steady as Iran tempers hopes of swift Hormuz reopening

"Any major progress towards restoring unrestricted shipping could exert downward pressure on oil prices, while a breakdown in negotiations or renewed supply disruptions could quickly revive the geopolitical risk premium," said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, a New Delhi-based research firm.

Both benchmarks fell more than 7% last week on hopes that Iran and Oman were close to reaching a deal that would result in a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas before the Middle East conflict that began at the end of February.

Iran said on Sunday that a deal with Oman was in its final stages, but it reiterated that the waterway would only reopen once Washington met other conditions, including U.S. compensation for widespread U.S. attacks on Iran.

Iran and the U.S. are not engaged in talks and Tehran will not start them as long as Washington breaches an interim deal signed in June, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday.

Oil prices were little changed on Monday as optimism over talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was tempered by Iran's insistence that the United States must satisfy several demands before the waterway could reopen.

Brent crude futures stood at $83.74 a barrel, up 19 cents, by 0807 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 3 cents at $78.21.

Meanwhile, in a further threat to supply, the Iran-aligned Houthis said they had struck Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery on Sunday.