Tensions between the United States and Iran escalated sharply on Thursday as Iran struck American military assets in Bahrain for the second consecutive day and declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to all vessels, including oil tankers and commercial ships, warning that any ship attempting passage would be fired upon.Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had struck bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to the latest US strikes. "During two waves of operations, eighteen important targets belonging to the US Army in the bases of Ali and Ahmad Ahmad Air Force (were hit)," the Guards said in a statement carried by state-run IRNA, adding that they also "hit and destroyed Sheikh Isa air bases."Iranian media reported that Iran targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, with drone strikes hitting "communication antennas and radar facilities of the Patriot system of the 5th Fleet," according to Mehr and Fars news agencies. An air raid alert was issued in Bahrain, with residents urged to "remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," the Gulf country's interior ministry said.Sirens were also reported sounding in Bahrain and explosions were reported in Iran's Karaj as the situation deteriorated.US Central Command denied Iran's claim that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed, saying that commercial ships were continuing to transit in and out of the waterway. CENTCOM also denied Iranian claims of having struck two ships in the strait.Iran's Fars News Agency, citing a military source, warned that Iran would give a "crushing and decisive response" to the US strikes and would target new American interests if Washington took further action.The US military said it had launched strikes against "multiple" targets in Iran for the second day in a row after President Donald Trump accused the country of dragging out talks on an interim peace deal. Trump, at the White House on Wednesday, accused Iran of stalling negotiations and threatened to hit the country "very hard." "We'll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to a deal. But they keep tapping us along. They keep playing us for suckers," he told reporters.CENTCOM said the strikes were carried out by US Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy assets, which "fired precision munitions on Iranian targets that posed a threat to US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters."Iran said the US attacks destroyed two water reservoirs and damaged a telecommunications tower. CNN reported that Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency released photos of a damaged drinking water reservoir in southern Iran, with weapons experts identifying components of a US-made GBU-39 series precision-guided munition at the site.In a Fox News interview, Trump said he had spoken directly with Iranian officials who asked him to stop the strikes, adding that the bombing would stop shortly and that Israel was not involved in the current round of strikes.Twenty-two countries, including the United States and several European nations, warned Iran to stop attacking people "on our soil," saying in a joint statement: "Attempts to kill, kidnap, harass, intimidate, or otherwise attack people on our soil undermines national sovereignty and international norms. These actions must stop immediately."