live IRGC Says 26 Ships Passed Through Strait Of Hormuz In Last 24 Hours

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy announced on May 20 that 26 commercial ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours with "coordination and security provided" by the force.

"Over the past 24 hours, 26 ships, including oil tankers, container ships, and other commercial vessels, passed through the Strait of Hormuz with the coordination and security of the IRGC Navy," it said on X.

The IRGC did not specify to which countries the ships belonged.

Tehran has been disrupting ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and effectively blocking this strategic waterway since February 28, when the United States and Israel first launch strikes on Iran.

With the cease-fire in place and after a round of negotiations between Iranian and American representatives in Pakistan that failed to yield results, US President Donald Trump ordered a naval blockade of Iran, which is still ongoing.

Iranian officials reported that several Chinese ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz during the US president's visit to China last week. In recent days, it has also been reported that two Qatari tankers carrying liquefied natural gas have also passed through the waterway.

Iran's Industry, Mines, and Trade Ministry has for the first time permitted the import of some raw materials related to the petrochemical and polymer sectors through sailor and courier procedures.

Tasnim news agency, which is close to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), said they are allowing the imports due to difficulties in supplying certain raw materials in recent months. The purpose, the IRGC said, is to "help continue the activities of downstream petrochemical and polymer industries."

US and Israeli strikes during the war, which started on February 28, inflicted significant damage on Iran's military and civilian infrastructure, such as steel mills and petrochemical centers. Targets included strategic energy facilities in the industrial complexes of the Mahshahr and Assaluyeh petrochemical special economic zones.

These attacks, which focused on disrupting utility supply infrastructure (water, electricity, steam, and oxygen), caused heavy damage to the production process of Iran's petrochemical industry.

This is the first time that raw materials related to the petrochemical and polymer industries have been specifically included in the list of goods that can be imported through the Kolbari and Malvani routes. Previous allowances have mainly concerned consumer goods, household appliances, clothing, food, electronics, and so-called border items.

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is heading to Tehran for talks with senior Iranian officials, marking his second trip to Iran in less than a week.

"Mohsin Naqvi traveled to Tehran to meet officials from the Islamic republic," Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on May 20, citing diplomatic sources in Islamabad.

Pakistan has recently been playing a mediating role between Iran and the United States.

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Naqvi had earlier visited Tehran on May 16–17 as part of efforts to help facilitate dialogue between Tehran and Washington, according to Iranian media reports.

During that trip, he met with Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqhchi, and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has issued a statement saying that any resumption of US attacks on Iran will lead it to extend the war “beyond the region.”

The statement followed recent remarks by US President Donald Trump that indicated he was considering new attacks.

On May 19, he said they could come "Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, ‌maybe early next week."

Prior to the cease-fire announced on April 8, Iran responded to the US and Israeli campaign of strikes by launching drone and missile attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.

“Should aggression against Iran be repeated, the regional war that was promised will this time extend beyond the region, and our crushing blows in places you can scarcely imagine will reduce you to ashes,” the IRGC statement said.

It’s not clear exactly what kind of geographical expansion of the conflict the statement is threatening, but one option – much discussed earlier in the war – is using Tehran-backed Houthi proxy forces in Yemen to attack shipping in the Bab al-Mandab strait, further disrupting international trade.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect of renewed military strikes on Iran despite the current cease-fire, prompting fresh scrutiny from analysts and policymakers over whether the truce can hold.

Senior Republicans, including Congressman Don Bacon and Senator Lindsey Graham, signaled support for keeping military options on the table, while the head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, told lawmakers that US forces were prepared if ordered to act.

But analysts interviewed by RFE/RL said the core strategic dilemma facing Washington remains unchanged: how to pressure Iran without triggering a wider regional escalation that Persian Gulf governments increasingly fear neither they nor the United States could fully contain.

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Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said the Iranian government’s financial resources are “running out” and that the country’s economy is “in a state of collapse.”

He added, however, that the Islamic republic, “instead of turning to a new and peaceful approach, has carried out repeated and brazen attacks against civilian electricity infrastructure and continues to cling to a strategy of acquiring nuclear weapons that could plunge the world into darkness.”

He stressed that “we cannot tolerate this and never will.”

Waltz's comments came as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi claimed Tehran had inflicted major costs on the United States during the conflict.

In a post on X late on May 19, Araqchi claimed the US Congress had acknowledged the loss of “dozens of aircraft worth billions” during the war and said Iran’s armed forces were the first to shoot down an F-35 fighter jet.

He also claimed that any renewed conflict would bring “many more surprises,” but did not elaborate.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East, says that US forces have forced 89 ships to change course since the implementation of the maritime blockade against Iran.

In a post published on X on May 19, CENTCOM stressed that it is continuing to enforce the blockade, preventing the flow of trade to and from Iranian ports.

The United States began the naval blockade of Iranian ports on April 13 after face-to-face negotiations with Iran in Pakistan failed.

Those talks were held several days after a cease-fire was established in Islamabad. The two sides subsequently exchanged competing proposals, but the negotiations have failed to produce a result.

Since the beginning of the war, the Iranian government has closed the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns over energy security and maritime transportation in the region.

Bill Cassidy, one of the four Republican senators who backed the resolution last night aiming to increase congressional oversight of US military action against Iran, had this to say about why he voted in favor of the move.

The Louisiana senator had voted against similar measures in the past, but changed his position after losing his state's Republican primary without Trump's backing.

Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this quick rundown of developments in Washington while we were away:

The US Senate voted to advance a resolution on May 19 aimed at limiting US President Donald Trump’s war powers in Iran unless he gains congressional authorization.

This was the eighth time Senate Democrats have attempted to push through the motion and succeeded as four Republicans decided to support it while others did not vote. The result in the procedural vote was a 50-47 approval.

The move came amid repeated indications from Trump on May 18 and May 19 that he is seriously weighing further strikes against Iran.

The measure would still need to be approved in further votes in the Senate and House of Representatives, and even then could face a presidential veto.

It is aimed at preventing Trump from ordering further strikes under the 1973 War Powers Act.

That legislation says presidents need congressional authorization for sending the armed forces into combat beyond 60 days.

Supporters of the motion say this deadline has expired, because the US and Israeli airstrikes were first launched on Iran on February 28.

The Trump administration argues that hostilities have already stopped, because of the cease-fire in place since April 8.

We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.