(CNN)-- The UAE called for an immediate halt to the escalation that the region has witnessed in recent days, stressing that targeting civilian infrastructure and civilian facilities in the region "cannot be accepted or justified under any circumstances."

The UAE Foreign Ministry expressed in a statement on Saturday "deep concern" after the recent escalation between the United States and Iran, calling for "not taking any steps that would exacerbate tensions and instability in the region."

The UAE called for "exercising the utmost restraint to avoid serious repercussions, and the region sliding into new levels of violence and instability."

The statement demanded an "immediate halt to all hostilities and an immediate return to the negotiating table, stressing the importance of ensuring freedom, safety, and continuity of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, as it is vital to the global economy."

The statement affirmed that "targeting civilian infrastructure and civilian facilities in the region, including schools, universities, hospitals, desalination plants, energy facilities, transportation centers, and residential areas, is a flagrant and grave violation of the established principles and provisions of international law, and cannot be accepted or justified under any circumstances."

The US Army announced on Saturday the death of two of its soldiers and the loss of a third, recording the first casualties among US forces in the war with Iran since last March.

Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and Qatar had been subjected to further Iranian attacks on Friday. Kuwait said Iran bombed a power and desalination plant.

The United States launched new strikes against Iran, and official media in Iran reported that several bridges in the south of the country and a maritime surveillance tower were targeted.

Iran claimed it had targeted US forces in Syria, although the US military and Syrian officials denied this.

The United States carried out a seventh night of strikes (extending from Friday night through Saturday), targeting coastal areas near the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, in addition to transportation infrastructure inland, according to Iranian official media.

The attacks resulted in damage to a desalination plant in the south of the country, leading to water outages in 20 villages, according to the deputy governor of Hormozgan province. Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia announced the activation of warning systems or the repelling of Iranian attacks, and Kuwait said another power and water desalination plant was bombed.