Day 205 of the WarSunday, September 20, 2026
Day 205 — Iran Reportedly Goes to 'Code 100' Alert; Ghalibaf Rules Out Hormuz Opening; State TV Points at IRGC Missiles
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Middle EastStrait of HormuzTehranTehranNew York
State TV: 'It's Obvious' Who Fired on the Ships
Iran- Answering charges that Tehran broke its deal with Washington, state TV military analyst Nima Akbari Khani said the ships were hit with anti-ship cruise missiles held by the IRGC Navy and the army, which take targeting orders from Khatam al-Anbiya: 'It's obvious, isn't it; this was carried out.'source
- Journalist Yashar Soltani had said that, while a deal was in place for the free sale of Iranian oil, 'some individuals' derailed it with missile strikes on ships — when the president was in Iraq, the speaker in Mashhad and Ali Khamenei's body was in the air, per Iran International.source
- Ramezan Sharif, adviser to the IRGC commander-in-chief, said 'the same fate that befell Saddam' awaits Trump and Netanyahu, claiming the energy price crisis in America and Europe will force the West to accept defeat, per Iran International.source
- Iran International analyst Morad Veisi says a possible joint U.S.-regional strike could aim to destroy Iran's remaining nuclear capacity and cripple its economy — refineries, power plants, oil, gas, steel and petrochemicals — or hit command structures and missile and drone sites.source
Retirees Rally, Detained Activists Vanish, a Hotel Party Draws Prosecutors
Iran- Social Security retirees and pensioners rallied in several cities on Sunday, chanting 'Enough empty promises, our tables are empty' and demanding pensions raised in line with inflation and full delivery of legal obligations, per RadioFarda.source
- Ten days after their September 10 arrest, there is still no word on Sara Shamsaei, Hossein Qashqaei and Abolfazl Qashqaei; Hossein and his wife Sara were seized by Intelligence Ministry agents in Lahijan and reportedly moved to Arak, LiveIranNews reports.source
- A recreational-sports event with music and women without mandatory hijab at the Aras Hotel in Noshahr drew in security and judicial authorities; the local IRGC commander says it is under investigation and prosecutors vow to pursue 'illegal cases,' per Iran International.source
Code 100 — Alerts, Travel Warnings and a Cut-Short Weekend
US / Coalition- U.S. embassies have issued travel warnings across the Middle East while Iran has placed the IRGC, the armed forces and the police on their highest level of alert, WarMonitor reports.source
- Initial reports cited by LiveIranNews say Tehran declared 'Code 100,' its highest alert, for the IRGC, army and security forces, as President Trump cut short his Camp David weekend to return to the White House and Netanyahu shortened a U.S. trip to fly home.source
- CENTCOM says that as of September 20 its forces have redirected 109 commercial vessels to ensure total compliance with the blockade, sharing images from USS John Paul Jones, while USS John Finn supports operations in the Arabian Sea.source
Hormuz as Leverage — 'No Opening' Until Tehran's Terms Are Met
Gulf & Naval- Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran's terms have been conveyed through mediators, and until they are met and U.S. commitments carried out there will be 'no opening' for a return to talks or for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, per RadioFarda.source
- Mohsen Rezaei told Al Jazeera that neighbors joining a U.S. economic blockade will see their ships 'punished' in Hormuz, threatened U.S. firms in the region including drilling companies, and said U.S. ships would be targeted anywhere in the Indian Ocean if war resumes, per Iran International.source
- Ebrahim Azizi, head of parliament's national security commission, said a Hormuz agreement was to be unveiled in Muscat before southern Gulf states but was postponed, warned Oman over any U.S. influence, and said renewed talks with Washington have 'no meaning,' per Iran International.source
- RadioFarda notes the Islamabad memorandum effectively collapsed in the summer, followed by sporadic exchanges — U.S. strikes on Iranian tankers in late August and an Iranian strike on a base in Jordan — while Saudi-Houthi fighting has pushed oil above $100 a barrel.source
Araghchi Heads for New York via Doha; the Diaspora Marks Mahsa's Anniversary
Global- Tasnim reports Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Tehran on Sunday evening at the head of a delegation to the UN General Assembly, flying to New York after a brief stopover in Qatar, per Iran International.source
- President Pezeshkian recently said Tehran would resume its commitments if Washington returns to the Islamabad memorandum, RadioFarda notes, even as Ghalibaf sets preconditions for any return to talks.source
- Iran International's Kamyar Baharang says Pezeshkian has no decision-making authority over nuclear talks or the war, so his UNGA trip is unlikely to ease pressure, while other analysts say Tehran has moved from 'neither war nor negotiation' to 'both war and negotiation.'source
- On the fourth anniversary of Mahsa Amini's killing, Iranians rallied in Washington, Los Angeles, Milan and Florence; in Florence, Italian senator Marco Lombardo called for an end to executions in Iran, per Iran International.source