Iran: Women are trained on Kalashnikovs and RPGs ahead of a possible new US attack, as part of the “Jan-fada” campaign

Iran is training women in weapons handling and urban combat as part of the “Jan-fada” mass mobilisation campaign, as Tehran prepares for the possibility of a new US attack. Images and video broadcast by Iranian media show women, some in uniform, learning to handle assault rifles at open-air training centres in the capital, the British Telegraph reported on Monday, October 5.

According to the organisers, the courses cover urban defence and familiarisation with weapons, from the Kalashnikov to the Dragunov sniper rifle, RPG launchers and portable anti-aircraft launchers. They also include rescue, firefighting and navigation modules designed specifically for women. The first training ground opened in Tehran’s Imam Hussein Square, and at least 14 are planned in the capital, with more in provincial centres, run by the Basij, the Revolutionary Guards and the regular army.

On October 3 a second centre opened in Haft-e Tir Square, with drills on anti-aircraft equipment, an obstacle course and weapons training in virtual reality, according to Middle East Eye. Ali Kowsari, the Basij organisation’s training chief, said 1,000 battalions were ready to be trained and that Iranians would stand united against any new attack if the enemy made “another miscalculation”.

The “national resistance” battalions

Campaign spokesman Sasan Zare said military training began under the Basij militia and that when registration opened for the “national resistance” battalions, more than 500,000 people signed up within 100 minutes, filling the first 1,000 units. The authorities then approved another 1,000. The organisers also plan neighbourhood-level relief and rescue units, in cooperation with the Red Crescent, in which women are among the largest groups of volunteers. Zare further claimed that foreigners, including US citizens, had offered to fight alongside Iranians. All of these figures come from the organisers themselves.

“Jan-fada”, which in Persian means “those who sacrifice their lives”, began this year after US and Israeli bombing started. The Iranian authorities present it as a revival of the “army of 20 million” that Ayatollah Khomeini called for after the Iraqi invasion of 1980, when women played a significant supporting role in the eight-year war. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since he was wounded in the bombing in late February, praised the participation in a message last week, according to the British newspaper. Rifle-handling lessons for civilians, men and women, had been held in Tehran squares since May.

Warnings from the military, pressure for talks

The mobilisation coincides with new warnings from Iran’s military leadership. Armed Forces General Staff chief Gen. Ali Abdollahi said that if a new war against Iran begins, “its fire will engulf everyone” and that American interests will be targeted “without limit”. Army commander Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami said the war “is not over” and that Iranian forces will deliver a “crushing” response to any new attack.

At the same time, Iranian diplomacy is pressing for talks to resume. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told foreign diplomats in Tehran on Sunday that “there is no military solution” and that Iran can fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if its conditions are met. For his part, US President Donald Trump predicted on Monday that the war with Iran will end “very soon”, the easy way or the hard way.