ALSO SEE: 2 U.S. Service Members Killed, 1 Missing After Iranian Attack in Jordan

Battle for control of Strait of Hormuz escalates after Tehran launches attack on Gulf states

The US conducted another night of strikes on Iran in response to the deaths of two of its soldiers in Jordan as Tehran launched attacks on American allies across the Gulf.

US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said on Saturday that the troops had been killed while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone strikes.

Centcom said its strikes, which started on Saturday evening US time and lasted into Sunday morning, were meant to “swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces” for the attack that killed the Americans, while further degrading “Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz”.

US forces hit Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defence facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites, Centcom said after the attacks ended.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said the US had fired several projectiles at the under-construction Darkhovin nuclear power plant in Khuzestan province early on Sunday. It did not elaborate on the extent of damage to the site.

The US military said one service member was unaccounted for while another four US personnel were treated in Jordanian hospitals and discharged.

The deaths come at a tense moment in the Middle East as the regional conflict intensifies in the wake of a collapsed ceasefire.

Iran has stepped up attacks across the Gulf in recent days, including striking Saudi Arabia for the first time in nearly four months.

The Kuwaiti army said on Sunday morning that its air-defence systems had been activated to intercept more missile and drone attacks from Iran.

The Gulf state has been intensely targeted over the past 48 hours, including multiple attacks on power generation and water desalination plants. Kuwait Airways said over the weekend that it had to reschedule most of its flights after its airspace was temporarily closed.

In neighbouring Bahrain, which along with Kuwait has borne the brunt of many recent Iranian attacks, sirens were sounded on Sunday as the interior ministry urged the public to seek shelter. The army said it intercepted several attacks over the weekend.

The Revolutionary Guards said it had attacked an American base in Bahrain and targeted the main artificial intelligence centre in the island kingdom.

US President Donald Trump, who is confronting record-low approval ratings as a growing share of voters sour on his handling of the conflict, reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports this week.

The US president had lifted the blockade last month after the warring parties signed a memorandum of understanding that extended an April ceasefire by 60 days and was supposed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The deaths of more US troops are likely to pile further political pressure on the president, while the tit-for-tat strikes raise the risk of a return to full-scale war and have undermined diplomatic efforts to reopen the vital waterway.

Iranian state media said on Saturday that the Islamic republic targeted Prince Sultan Air Base in the Saudi city of al-Kharj, which hosts American forces.

Saudi Arabia’s civil defence issued a warning on Saturday for a threat over Al-Kharj, 85km south-east of the capital Riyadh, as well as Yanbu, a Red Sea port with a refinery and a crude export terminal. However, it was not clear whether Yanbu was targeted.

The kingdom has shifted the majority of its oil exports to the Red Sea using an east-west pipeline after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The foreign ministries of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates condemned the attacks on the Gulf. The UAE said it was deeply concerned about the recent escalation and called for “an immediate end to hostilities and a swift return to negotiations”.

The guards warned regional states that host US military forces to prepare for a “corresponding response and activate their civilian defence units to protect the lives of citizens by keeping them away from potential targets”.

In a written statement, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei criticised what he said was the US’s “bullying, hegemonic ambitions and brutality”. Khamenei said Iran would have “unforgettable lessons” for the US.