Overview
- State-backed Janfada campaign ran the first women-only firearms and survival course at Imam Hussein Square, with footage showing weapons handling, first aid, guerrilla drills and obstacle training.
- Officials say the drive is part of a mass mobilisation under the Basij and IRGC that has registered more than 600,000 people for active mobilisation and aims to form volunteer resistance battalions across Iran.
- Organisers reported that roughly a quarter of recruits chose military or security roles while others signed up for rescue, social services, media or logistical support, framing many roles as nonfrontline tasks.
- Some participants said they joined to protect family and neighbourhoods in wartime, while analysts note the campaign also seeks to repair the Basij’s public standing after its turn to domestic security duties.
- The courses and new civilian training centres in central Tehran are being presented as readiness for a possible ground offensive by the US or Israel and may affect domestic security, public messaging and regional diplomatic leverage.