US forces completed "self-defense strikes" against Iran in response to the downing of a US Army Apache helicopter on Monday, the US Central Command said on Tuesday local time. 

A number of explosions were heard early on Wednesday and air defenses were activated in the port city of Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Sirik County and Jask County in southern Iran, state-run IRIB TV reported, citing sources.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that six explosions were heard in Sirik, Qeshm Island and the southern city of Minab, adding that areas in the three regions were attacked by US fighter jets.

The explosions came as US Central Command said in a post on social media platform X that its "forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET today at the Commander in Chief's direction, in response to yesterday's downing of a US Army Apache helicopter."

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused Iran of shooting down a US Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and vowed to respond. "Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack," he added.

Israeli strikes kill 16 in Lebanon

At least 16 people were killed and dozens injured in a wave of Israeli air strikes and drone attacks across southern Lebanon on Tuesday, according to Lebanon's sources, underscoring the continuing volatility along the Lebanese-Israeli border.

The deadliest attack targeted a residential area in the southern city of Tyre, where eight people were killed and 32 others wounded, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) and local rescue officials.

Elsewhere, six people were killed in separate drone strikes in the Nabatieh region, including four in a pre-dawn attack on the town of kfar Remmen. In another incident, two Syrian nationals were killed in a preliminary toll from a series of Israeli air strikes that targeted the area between the towns of Ansariyeh and Adloun.

Lebanon's Civil Defense Directorate said two of its personnel sustained minor injuries when a drone strike hit an area in the town of Sharqiya while they were responding to an earlier attack on a vehicle.

Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Center said the cumulative toll from Israeli attacks between March 2 and June 9 had reached 3,666 dead and 11,321 injured.

(With input from Xinhua)