Ankara/Anadolu

The US State Department issued a warning to its citizens around the world on Tuesday, urging them to exercise caution against the backdrop of renewed military escalation in the Middle East.

The department said in a security advisory that the security environment in the Middle East remains 'complex' and that the possibility of unexpected escalation remains.

It called on American citizens in the Middle East to exercise caution and remain on high alert.

It also asked them to prepare for possible flight cancellations, temporary airspace closures, and travel disruptions.

The advisory urged American citizens outside the Middle East to reconsider travel to or through the region.

The department pointed to the possibility of targeting individuals and sites linked to the United States.

The warning comes as the confrontation between the United States and Iran enters its second week, following the collapse of a temporary halt to military operations between the two sides at the beginning of this July.

Since the resumption of confrontation, the United States has launched successive waves of strikes on military sites and infrastructure inside Iran, while Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks on what it says are US bases and facilities in several countries in the region.

The Iranian attacks hit sites in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, while Washington announced the deaths of two US soldiers and a third missing after a base in Jordan was targeted, in a development that heightened fears of an expansion of the confrontation.

The escalation also disrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and threatened air traffic and energy supplies, amid intermittent airspace closures and warnings of targeting US facilities and interests outside the Middle East.