Oil prices climbed in Asian trade Monday morning as escalating tensions in the U.S.-Iran conflict stoked concerns over potential supply disruptions in the Middle East.

The U.S. military said it struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday after Iran launched ballistic missiles toward two Navy warships, as the battle to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz intensified. The Strait is a key waterway through which one-fifth of the oil is transported.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has fired ballistic missiles at U.S. forces throughout the conflict, but the attempted attack on the warships was perceived as a major escalation, U.S. officials said.

"The spectre of oil flows returning to normal in the Middle East faded amid renewed attacks between the U.S. and Iran," ANZ Research analysts said in a report. "Any geopolitical breakthrough is difficult to envisage. A prolonged standoff, punctuated by calibrated military action by the U.S. and Iran, now appears the most likely scenario," the analysts added.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 0.5% to $91.94 a barrel, while front-month Brent crude oil futures advanced 0.2% to $96.51 a barrel.

Equity markets across the Asia-Pacific region gained, bolstered by signs of U.S. economic resilience. South Korea's Kospi rose 3.1%, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed 1.8%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index added 0.4%.

Data released by the U.S. Labor Department on Friday showed that employers added 162,000 jobs in August. This far exceeded the 53,000 positions projected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1%, in line with economists' expectations.

"The stronger jobs data reinforces the resilience of the U.S. economy," said Christopher Wong, FX strategist at OCBC Group Research.