The US, on Monday, issued a travel advisory warning its citizens against travelling to the Middle East and advising those already in the region to “exercise increased caution.”

US and Iran, locked in a struggle over the Strait of Hormuz, traded strikes for the 10th consecutive night on Monday. Explosions have been reported across the region, particularly in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, which have been the targets of Iranian retaliatory attacks.

The tension in the region is also escalating. Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen previously threatened to close another key oil-shipping strait, the Bab al-Mandeb at the mouth of the Red Sea, and impose a blockade on Saudi Arabia.

The Iranian-backed rebel group also threatens to open a new front of the war. All of which could further rattle the global oil market.

The State Department, in the advisory published on its website, described the security in the Gulf as complex and with potential for unforeseen escalation.