CAIRO (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied Friday 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 U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and new U.S. sanctions. On Friday, it claimed another attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway it has sought to control since the start of the war.
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 paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and the Basij militia, which has played a key role in quashing anti-government protests.
Rally seeks to project strength under US pressure
Tehran’s Guard chief, Gen. Hassan Hassanzadeh, told the state broadcaster that over 600,000 people had registered to participate, with over 1 million expected to take part in the training. On Friday morning, 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 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 added, as President Masoud Pezeshkian, military commanders and other senior officials watched the march.
Some participants trampled flags of the U.S. and Israel. Others chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
“I am here to tell (U.S. 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.
Iran says it attacked another tanker in the Strait of Hormuz
The Guard displayed drones that have been used against ships in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran’s attacks and threats have severely affected the Gulf region’s shipments of oil and natural gas to the rest of the world.
Iran said it had attacked a Togo-flagged oil tanker, the Trend, for what it called an “illegal attempt” to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the state broadcaster reported. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center said a tanker was hit by a projectile, sparking a fire on board that was extinguished.
The UKMTO in a separate update said ship transits facilitated by the U.S. military off Oman have averaged 24 a day over the past week but overall traffic remains about 90% lower than before the war.
Iran’s new volunteers could help suppress future dissent
Friday’s events also suggested that hard-liners like Taeb among Iran’s leadership will 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 7,000 people and saw tens of thousands detained.
In May, government officials said more than 30 million people in Iran — which has a total population of some 90 million — had volunteered via an online form or at public gatherings to lay down their lives for the theocracy. The Associated Press could not independently confirm that.
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Karimi reported from Tehran, Iran, and Anna from Jerusalem.
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