Thousands attend pro-government rally in Iran, pledging readiness to renew war with US and Israel

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians are rallying in a government-organized show of defiance after months of war, pledging their readiness to take up arms in the biggest such demonstration since the United States and Israel attacked in February.

Iran’s government has sought to rally the people and stress national unity, even as the economy worsens under a US naval blockade of Iranian ports and new US sanctions meant to increase Tehran’s economic pain.

Estimates vary as to the number of people volunteering to receive limited military training and defend the country in an effort described as “Janfaday-e Iran,” or the “ones who sacrifice their lives for Iran.” They march through downtown Tehran in combat uniform, carrying flags, as onlookers cheer.

For days, state media have encouraged Iranians to join the campaign, saying training with assault rifles would begin soon. The volunteers would be an additional layer of security to the powerful Revolutionary Guard paramilitary and its all-volunteer arm, the Basij.

Tehran’s Guard chief, Gen. Hassan Hassanzadeh, tells the state broadcaster that over 600,000 people had registered to participate, with over 1 million expected to take part in the training. This morning, the broadcaster estimated over 300,000 people were on the streets.

The new head of the Basij, Hossein Taeb, declares in a speech as the rally begins that the volunteers will be ready for “full-fledged defense” and similar rallies will take place in other cities soon.

The new trainees will make a “nightmare” for Iran’s enemies, Taeb adds, as President Masoud Pezeshkian, military commanders and other senior officials watch the march.

Some participants trample flags of the US and Israel. Others chant “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

“I am here to tell (US President Donald) Trump that we Iranians have no fear of his threats against our homeland,” says Marzieh Afaghi, 24, who is attending the rally with her toddler and husband. “No one in history could invade Iran and remain there.”

The rally is also a chance for Iran to show off military hardware. Anti-aircraft batteries are on display, while female Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members in black headscarves sit with truck-mounted machine guns.

The IRGC displays drones that have been widely used against ships in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has asserted control since the war began, severely affecting the Gulf region’s shipments of oil and natural gas to the rest of the world.