Hundreds of thousands of Iranians took part in a government-organized demonstration of determination after months of war, declaring their readiness to take up arms, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
It was the largest such demonstration since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February, the AP notes.
Iranian authorities seek to mobilize the population and emphasize national unity amid the worsening economic situation due to the American naval blockade of Iranian ports and new sanctions by Washington aimed at increasing economic pressure on Tehran.
Estimates of the number of volunteers who have expressed their willingness to undergo limited military training and participate in the country's defense, differ. The campaign is called “Janfaday e Iran“, which means “those who sacrifice their lives for Iran“. Dressed in combat uniforms and carrying flags, the participants marched through the streets of central Tehran to the cheers of the gathered people.
For days, state media has been calling on Iranians to join the campaign and has announced that training with assault rifles will begin soon. The volunteers are to become an additional force to the influential Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its volunteer formation “Basij“.
The commander of the Revolutionary Guard forces in Tehran, General Hassan Hassanzadeh, told state television that more than 600,000 people have registered to participate, and more than a million are expected to undergo training. This morning, television reported that more than 300,000 people took to the streets.
The new head of the Basij, Hossein Taeb, said in a speech at the start of the march that the volunteers would be ready for a "full-scale defense" and that similar events would soon take place in other cities.
The newly trained volunteers would become a "nightmare" for Iran's enemies, Taeb added. President Masoud Pezeshkian, senior military officials and other leaders watched the march. Some participants trampled on US and Israeli flags, while others chanted "Death to America" and “Death to Israel“.
“I am here to tell Trump that we Iranians are not afraid of his threats against our homeland,“ said Marzieh Afaghi, 24, who attended the demonstration with her husband and their young child. “No one in history has been able to invade Iran and stay here.“
The demonstration also gave Iran a chance to show off some of its military equipment. Anti-aircraft guns were on display, and Revolutionary Guard women in black headscarves were positioned next to car-mounted machine guns.
The Revolutionary Guard also showed off drones, which have been used extensively against ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has taken control of since the war began. This has severely disrupted the supply of oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world.
Today's events also suggested that hardliners in Iran's leadership like Taeb would be more prepared to suppress any future protests against the theocratic rule.
In January, shortly before the war, Iran was gripped by some of the largest nationwide protests in its history. They began over economic hardship and then grew into protests against a wider range of issues. Activists say more than 7,000 people were killed and tens of thousands were detained in the crackdown.
In May, officials said that more than 30 million people in Iran, whose population is about 90 million, had expressed their willingness to sacrifice their lives for the theocratic rule through an online form or at public demonstrations. The Associated Press has not been able to independently confirm this information.