Iran said Monday it was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman in an effort to prevent any further escalation in its war with the United States.

"The role of the mediators is to continue their efforts to prevent an escalation of tensions," said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

The United States launched several waves of strikes on Iran into Monday morning over an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing over the weekend. Iran retaliated by targeting countries across the Middle East.

Missile alert sirens sounded at dawn Monday in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. There was no immediate word on damage.

The United States and Iran each asserted Monday they controlled the Strait of Hormuz after a weekend of attacks stretching across the wider Middle East, further threatening any diplomacy to end the war.

The attacks, sparked by Iran striking a container ship Sunday in the strait off the coast of Oman, again underlined that the waterway that once saw a fifth of the world's traded crude oil and natural gas pass through it remained the key issue in negotiations. The narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf has seen shipping disrupted since the start of the war as Iran maintained a chokehold on it by attacking commercial vessels around it, intimidating shippers.

Qatar's government on Sunday announced the death of former leader Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who led the country from 1995 to 2013. He was 74, according to a government website.

"With hearts steadfast in faith in God's decree and destiny, the Bureau of the Emir mourns the great loss to the nation of the late -- may God have mercy on him -- His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani," read a statement published by the emir's office on social media.

Tehran announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and launched missiles and drones at its Gulf neighbours, in retaliation for new U.S. strikes following an attack by Iranian forces on a merchant vessel that was abandoned in flames by its crew.

Qatari officials are participating in talks between Iran and Oman in Muscat over the strait of Hormuz, a diplomat with knowledge told U.S. news portal Axios on Saturday.

A regional source told Axios that the parties are discussing a potential statement on full opening of the "median lane" in the strait of Hormuz ,which is in international waters, for full and free movement.

Iran warned that it would no longer be bound by a deal with the U.S. aimed at ending the Middle East war if Washington's violations of the agreement continued, state TV reported on Saturday.

Iran's supreme leader on Saturday vowed revenge for the U.S.-Israeli killing of his father and predecessor, hours after President Donald Trump warned against any attempt to assassinate him.

Iran insisted on Saturday it had "kept its word" on a ceasefire with the United States, after President Donald Trump insisted the truce was over but that he had agreed to further negotiations with the Islamic republic.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Middle East conflict negotiator Pakistan has urged Iran's president to safeguard the "hard-earned peace" after Tehran and Washington exchanged strikes this week.