IRAN SAYS IT STRUCK A JORDAN AIR BASE AS QATAR, UAE AND BAHRAIN REPORT INTERCEPTING MISSILES AND DRONES

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched "retaliatory strikes" on the Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan, Iranian state media reported Sunday morning. The IRGC said it used several ballistic missiles and claimed it destroyed a command-and-control centre and drone storage hangars at the base, describing the attack as an immediate response to U.S. strikes on coastal bases and telecommunications towers along Iran's southern coastline. The strikes followed the third round of U.S. attacks on Iran this week, which U.S. Central Command launched at 7:15 p.m. ET Saturday after accusing Iranian forces of attacking the Cyprus-flagged container ship M/V GFS Galaxy in the Strait of Hormuz.

Gulf states reported intercepting incoming fire. Qatar's defence ministry said Sunday morning local time that its armed forces had intercepted a missile attack targeting the country, according to CNN and CBS News. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates said early Sunday they were responding to missile and drone threats, and sirens sounded in Bahrain. Al Jazeera reported that Iran claimed an attack on Jordan while Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE reported intercepting missiles and drones. Iranian state media reported explosions in the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Chabahar, Bandar-e Deyr and Asaluyeh as the U.S. strikes continued.

The two sides describe the same events very differently. CENTCOM said Iranian forces "blatantly attacked" the GFS Galaxy, leaving an onboard fire, significant engine-room damage and one civilian crew member missing, and said that across three nights of strikes this week it hit more than 300 targets, including Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage, communication networks and coastal surveillance locations. Iran, through the IRGC and state media, says it fired a warning shot at a vessel that had switched off its tracking system and strayed from approved routes, and has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed until further notice and until U.S. operations in the region end. The IRGC warned that further U.S. attacks would be met with stronger responses.

Still unconfirmed: the fate of the GFS Galaxy crew member, who CENTCOM said was missing and whose status has not been resolved in any reporting Mission Offline can verify; the damage Iran claims to have inflicted at Prince Hassan Air Base, which Jordanian authorities have not confirmed on the record; and any casualty figures from Sunday's exchanges. Mission Offline has not independently confirmed either side's battle-damage claims. Diplomacy is running alongside the fighting: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi in Muscat to discuss safe passage through the strait, with Oman floating a two-corridor plan, and Qatar and Pakistan also working to restart talks. What to watch next: whether the missing crew member is found, whether Jordan or the U.S. confirm damage at the base, whether the U.S. strikes a fourth time, and whether the Oman track produces a deal or collapses.

Fact-check date: July 12, 2026
Article type: Breaking / Developing
Sources: U.S. Central Command; Iranian state media / IRGC statements; Qatar Ministry of Defence; CNN; CBS News; Al Jazeera; Gulf News