The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the US Consulate General in Dubai have warned of "the potential for unforeseen escalation" amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

Americans in the region are being urged to "exercise heightened vigilance" and prepare for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruptions.

The advisory also notes that US diplomatic facilities have previously been targeted, both in the Middle East and elsewhere.

It warns that Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other US interests overseas, including businesses and institutions associated with the US.

Two oil tankers have hit sea mines and exploded while trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says in a statement shared by state media Irna.

The tankers went through the mine a few hours ago and are still burning, the IRGC says. It accuses the tankers of being told by the US to go through "an illegal route".

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Washington is in control of the strait.

The IRGC says its Navy had previously warned of the dangers of crossing the "mined passage".

Six months have passed since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran. It was a conflict that Trump expected to last "four to five" weeks, but nearly 27 weeks in, there's no end in sight.

Recently, Trump said that the war "will continue for as long as necessary" and that there's no timetable to resume peace talks with Tehran.

In the video below, the BBC's Tom Bateman breaks down what Trump has accomplished during the six month war with Iran.

As we mention in the previous post, President Trump has claimed the US has "almost total control" of the Strait of Hormuz. But why is the strait so significant?

The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway responsible for much of the world's shipping.

Given its proximity to Iran - and significance to world trade - it has been an arena where much of the fighting and diplomacy between Washington and Tehran has played out.

Image source, EPA

US President Donald Trump says he is not forcing Iran to the bargaining table.

• As a reminder, a US-Iran agreement, known as the Memorandum of Understanding, to extend an April ceasefire between the two countries was signed in June. However, that agreement has expired

"I couldn't care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement," Trump has written on his social media platform Truth Social.

He says he likes Washington's position "now much better", suggesting that the US has "almost total control" of the Strait of Hormuz.

But Iranian threats and attacks to shipping have stopped most traffic through the key shipping route. While some oil tankers have moved through it in recent weeks, volumes remain much lower than at the start of the war.

Tehran has carried out missile and drone attacks on US targets in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain after American forces resumed strikes on Iran on Tuesday.

The Jordanian Armed Forces said it had intercepted 13 ballistic missiles, 10 of which were destroyed, while three fell in remote areas. There were no deaths or injuries.

Separately, Kuwait said its air defences were responding to Iranian missile attacks early Wednesday.

Several explosions were also reported in Bahrain, according to Iranian state media.

And according to Iranian news agency Irna, the IRGC has reported striking US bases in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, destroying a maintenance centre, warehouses and equipment.

Image source, Iranian Red Crescent via Reuters

Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has called Washington “THE Great Satan” after US strikes reportedly hit a wedding party in Sirik, southern Iran.

The Iranian Red Crescent says five people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 were injured when a US missile attack hit a home where the wedding celebration was taking place.

The US military said it was aware of the reports but it never targeted civilians.

But this morning, in a post on X, Ghalibaf pointed to civilian fatalities since the start of the war, including at a primary school in Minab, saying: “If a power acts like Satan … it’s Satan."

US Central Command (Centcom) said the strikes on Iran followed “recent attempted attacks” by Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and American forces in the region.

Tehran has since launched a series of attacks on US targets in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain.

We’ll bring you more on this story.

Image source, Centcom