Riyadh: A coordinated Iranian attack on Saudi oil infrastructure could trigger a military response from the kingdom, a source close to the Saudi government told AFP on Monday, as the Israel-Iran conflict spills deeper into the Gulf’s energy heartland.

The warning came after two drones struck the sprawling Ras Tanura refinery on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast, forcing a partial shutdown at one of the world’s most critical oil processing and export hubs.

“It depends if this is seen as a direct attack on Aramco by the Iranian leadership or a rogue drone that just came close,” the source told AFP, referring to the state energy giant.

“At this stage I think Saudi will watch and wait.”

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The development adds a new layer of risk to global energy markets already rattled by missile exchanges between Israel and Iran, attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz, and strikes on military and energy assets across the region.

Military retaliation remains on the table if Riyadh concludes that Tehran is orchestrating a sustained campaign against its oil network, the source said. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest crude exporter and a cornerstone of global supply.

Saudi Arabia would target “Iranian oil facilities if Iran mounts a concerted attack on Aramco”, the source added.

The Ras Tanura incident follows a series of escalatory moves in recent days, including U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian missile and naval sites, retaliatory attacks by Iran and allied militias, and growing threats to tanker routes in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, chokepoints that handle a significant share of global crude flows.

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Asian countries are the most at risk from oil and gas supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with Japan facing the highest risk, followed by South Korea and India, according to international research group Zero Carbon Analytics.

The Strait of Hormuz lies between Iran and Oman on the Arabian Peninsula and connects the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea. The shipping lanes in the strait are only two miles wide in each direction, but around 20 per cent of the world's oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) flows through them. The narrow chokepoint is the main route for oil exported from major Middle-East producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran, and the only route for LNG from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to enter global markets.

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"Around 20 per cent of the world's oil and LNG passes through the two-mile-wide shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, making it a major chokepoint in global energy supply. Iran may disrupt or block the shipping route. Four Asian countries -- China, India, Japan and South Korea -- account for 75 per cent of oil and 59 per cent of LNG flows through the strait. China and India are the largest single destinations for oil and LNG travelling through the strait," the research group said.

"Of the top countries that import oil and gas via the Strait of Hormuz, Japan faces the most direct risk of disruption, due to its high share of oil and gas trade through the shipping route and its reliance on imported oil and gas. South Korea ranks second most at risk, India third and China fourth," it added.