The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations commenced enhanced security patrols across the region in international waters on May 18, the US Naval Forces Central Command announced on Sunday.

The move is specifically enhancing communication and coordination between the US 5th Fleet and GCC states in support of regional naval cooperation and maritime security operations in the Gulf, it added.

As agreed last week in a meeting at US 5th Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, ships of the GCC, both navies and coast guards, are working in tight coordination with each other and the United States Navy.

The measures come in the heels of unstable security conditions in the region fuelled by the latest attacks on ships off the United Arab Emirates' coasts.

Bahrain's foreign ministry on Saturday had issued travel advisory warning its citizens against travelling to Iran and Iraq and others already there to leave the two countries immediately.

Bahrain cut all diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016, citing Tehran's "interference in Bahrain's internal affairs."