Tehran (AFP) – Gathered around a Revolutionary Guard in central Tehran, an audience of Iranians is learning to use an AK-47 assault rifle, in case it falls to them to defend the country from renewed US attacks.
Issued on: 19/05/2026 - 12:22
3 min Reading time
For nearly half an hour, the soldier demonstrates different types of ammunition and how to assemble and disassemble the Kalashnikov using illustrated boards set up behind him on Haft-e Tir Square. The authorities have set up military training booths across Tehran in recent days to teach the public the basics of weapons handling, as they seek to prepare Iranian society for the possibility of a return to fighting.The city has been spared relentless strikes since the start of a ceasefire on April 8, which paused nearly 40 days of war with the United States and Israel, but fears remain that the fighting could restart at any moment."The response from people, from women and men, has been extraordinary. It is entirely voluntary," said Guards soldier Nasser Sadeghi at the Haft-e Tir booth. He added that the sessions which began over two weeks ago were preparing civilians from all walks of life for renewed fighting. "The aim ... is to promote the culture of martyrdom and avenging the blood of the leader," he noted, referring to the late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the surprise US-Israeli strikes that began the war on February 28. So far, the training only extends to using assault rifles, but Sadeghi said "God willing, in the coming days, depending on what higher authorities deem appropriate, other weapons will also be brought in for training".Their audiences include men with little previous military training as well as chador-clad women, some with head and wrist bands of the Iranian flag.Onlookers including children and teenagers could also be seen posing for photographs with unloaded rifles. 'Rightful revenge'
