Iran has launched a drone attack on a United States military base in Bahrain, making it the second attempt to target the Gulf country in three days amid rising tensions over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that it deployed six drones against a U.S. air defence radar facility at Al-Riffa air base in Bahrain.

Bahrain’s military, however, said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed the drones before they could reach their targets.

The latest incident followed another Iranian drone attack on Bahrain on Friday, marking the country’s first attack against Gulf countries since September.

In the aftermath of Sunday’s attack, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry urged residents to move to their nearest safe locations as sirens sounded across the country.

The country’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks, holding Iran responsible for their consequences.

In a statement by Iran’s state broadcaster, the IRGC declared that the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, warning that any further aggression by the United States would attract a stronger response.

The latest attack comes amid a standoff between Washington and Tehran over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies normally pass.

Iran has insisted on controlling the waterway and targeted vessels it considers unauthorised, while the U.S. military has been providing security for oil tankers travelling through the strait.

Earlier this week, the U.S. carried out what officials described as limited defensive strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island following an alleged attack by the IRGC on a U.S. aircraft.

However, diplomatic efforts to end the conflict and reopen the strategic waterway have stalled after an earlier preliminary deal collapsed.

U.S. President Donald Trump has also said Washington is no longer interested in negotiating an agreement to end the war with Iran.