By Stephanie Kelly LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Tuesday, after falling over 4% in the previous session, as market participants considered the global supply outlook and the possibility of a de-escalation in U.

A U.S.-flagged tanker heading for Bahrain was approached and threatened by Iranian gunboats in the Strait of Hormuz, a British maritime security firm says.

Oil ⁠prices were little changed as market participants weighed the possibility of a de-escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions.

The oil market got another boost from a bullish inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute (API). The numbers show that US crude oil inventories fell by 11.1m barrels over the last week, significantly larger than the roughly 640k barrel draw the market was expecting.

The sanctions announced Friday are in addition to an initial round of penalties issued last week against several senior Iranian officials.

The Treasury Department announced it's sanctioning nine vessels that transport Iranian oil, as well as the ships' owners.

Iran tensions push oil up 11% and threaten the Strait of Hormuz (20% of global supply). Click for this overview of the sector and factors influencing oil prices.

The United States has imposed sanctions on a fleet of nine ships accused of transporting hundreds of millions of dollars in forbidden Iranian oil to foreign markets.

Oil prices plunged nearly 5% as a broader selloff sweeps commodities markets and negotiations between the U.S. and Iran ease supply concerns. Brent crude fell 4.6% to $66.10 a barrel, while WTI was down 4.