Iranians rally by the hundreds of thousands in biggest show of defiance since war began

Cairo: Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied on Friday in a government-organised 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 varied of 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 marched through downtown Tehran in combat uniform, carrying flags, as onlookers cheered.

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, General Hassan Hassanzadeh, told the state broadcaster that more than 600,000 people had registered to participate, with over 1 million expected to take part in the training. On Friday morning (Tehran time), the broadcaster estimated over 300,000 people were on the streets.

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

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

Some participants trampled flags of the US and Israel. Others chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.

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

The rally was also a chance for Iran to show off military hardware. Anti-aircraft batteries were on display, while female Guard members in black headscarves sat with truck-mounted machine guns.

The Guard displayed 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.

Friday’s events also suggested that hardliners such as Taeb among Iran’s leadership would be more prepared to suppress any future demonstration against the theocracy.

In January, shortly before the war, Iran saw some of its largest nationwide protests in history, which began over the struggling economy and turned to wider grievances. Activists have said a crackdown killed over 7000 people and saw tens of thousands detained.

In May, government officials said more than 30 million people in Iran – home to a population of some 90 million – had volunteered via an online form or at public gatherings to lay down their lives for the theocracy. That could not be independently confirmed.

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