Iran claimed on Friday that it had launched attacks against U.S. military assets in both Kuwait and Bahrain, marking the latest escalation in regional hostilities and extinguishing hopes from earlier in the week that diplomacy could swiftly resume.

According to Iranian media reports on Friday, Iran's army targeted the Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait. "In a direct response to recent U.S. aggressions on southern Iran, the Iranian Army has conducted precision drone strikes against key strategic facilities at Kuwait's Ahmed Al-Jaber Air Base, targeting fighter aircraft hangars, satellite communications systems, and equipment depots," the Iranian army was quoted as saying. The claim was reported by IranPress.

A day earlier, on Thursday, Iran asserted it had struck key U.S. facilities located at Bahrain's Sheikh Isa Air Base, as reported by Anadolu Agency. Bahrain also hosts the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, making the island nation a central node for American naval operations across the Persian Gulf and a frequent focal point in regional security calculations.

The two nations have exchanged strikes over several consecutive days, representing a renewed phase of hostilities that began just two days after a ceasefire announcement had been made over the prior weekend.

Oil prices have held in the upper $80s per barrel in recent sessions as market participants weigh the risk of the conflict expanding to additional countries. However, reports indicating that growing volumes of crude oil have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz have kept prices from breaching the $90-per-barrel threshold, according to Reuters. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints, typically carrying roughly a fifth of global oil consumption on a normal day, which is why even partial disruptions to its traffic have an outsized effect on prices.

While crude oil prices have drifted lower over the past two days, both major benchmarks remain on track to register weekly and monthly gains. On a monthly basis, Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate have each risen nearly 20%.

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues to be a fraction of what it was before the United States and Israel first struck Iran on February 28. Nevertheless, any indication of improved transit conditions appears to push futures prices lower, irrespective of the actual scale of the improvement.

In a development that could ease supply concerns, Saudi Arabia announced this week that it is seeking partners for a defense-oriented coalition focused on securing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. According to Riyadh, 14 countries have formally endorsed the initiative, including Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan, and Djibouti. The proposed coalition would cover a second major maritime chokepoint on the route between the Persian Gulf and European markets, where shipping disruptions have periodically forced freight rerouting around the southern tip of Africa.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com