ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The US military on Tuesday evening announced that it began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran in response to "attempted attacks" by the force against commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and US servicemembers in the region.

"Today at 12 p.m. ET, US forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

Reports of explosions in Iran emerged shortly before the issuance of the statement, with Iranian state TV asserting that blasts were heard on the strategic Qeshm Island - with five having been heard in the village of Masen and another four in the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite circulating rumors of explosions near Bandar Abbas, the state-owned IRIB cited the governor of Hormozgan province as saying that no incidents have been recorded in the province.

"The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region," CENTCOM concluded.

Tuesday's strikes come following a tit-for-tat exchange of fire between the warring sides on Sunday, with Washington bombing Larak Island after it allegedly detected IRGC forces preparing to deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz from the site.

In retaliation, the IRGC said on Monday that it had targeted two US bases in Jordan, Malik Hussein and al-Azraq.

The IRGC also claimed to have targeted the United Arab Emirates’ Al Minhad Air Base with "dozens of drones," with Abu Dhabi saying it had intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters but that the airbase itself did not endure any successful strike.

The recent escalation comes as little progress has been made in bringing the war to a conclusive halt. Despite the insistence of US President Donald Trump that the Strait of Hormuz is open for transit, shipping data shows that commercial passage through the strategic waterway still remains significantly below pre-conflict levels amid ongoing Iranian restrictions.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday said that Tehran is ready to return to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Washington in July, which saw the temporary reopening of the strait before the US accused Iran of breaching its terms by targeting vessels failing to comply with Iranian-imposed shipping routes.

According to Iranian state media, Pezeshkian said that Washington's adherence to the document "lasted less than two weeks" before its "excessive demands and breach of its commitments began," adding that "this continues to this day."

“However, I state clearly that if the US returns to its commitments under the aforementioned Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately take reciprocal action,” he said.