Iran Holds Public Weddings For Couples Joining “Self-Sacrifice” Wartime Programme
Iran organised mass weddings for couples pledging wartime sacrifice readiness.
Iranian authorities organised mass public wedding ceremonies in Tehran for couples who signed up for a state-backed programme declaring their willingness to sacrifice their lives in the conflict involving the United States and Israel. The events, held late on Monday across several major public squares in the Iranian capital, were widely broadcast on state television as part of efforts to project national unity and strengthen wartime morale.
According to Iranian media reports, hundreds of couples participated in the ceremonies, including more than 100 couples at the centrally located Imam Hossein Square. Participants in the weddings had enrolled in what Iranian outlets described as the “self-sacrifice” scheme, known as janfada in Persian, under which citizens pledged readiness to support the war effort in various ways, including forming human shields around critical infrastructure such as power stations.
Iranian officials claimed that millions of citizens had registered for the initiative, including prominent political figures such as Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian. The ceremonies featured strong nationalist and religious symbolism, with couples arriving in military jeeps fitted with mounted machine guns before taking part in marriage rituals conducted by clerics on decorated stages.
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Images from the event showed large portraits of supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei displayed prominently across the venue. Mojtaba Khamenei assumed leadership after the death of his father, former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was reportedly killed on the opening day of the war. Iranian authorities have continued to organise large public gatherings since the conflict began in February as part of a broader mobilisation campaign.
Participants interviewed by Iranian media described the weddings as both personal celebrations and patriotic acts. One bride told the Mehr news agency that despite the war, young people still had the right to marry and build families. Another groom said the ceremony coincided with the anniversary of the marriage of Imam Ali and Fatima, a highly revered event in Shia Islam, making the occasion spiritually significant for the couples involved.
The public weddings took place against the backdrop of continued regional tensions and repeated warnings from US President Donald Trump about possible renewed military action against Iran despite an uneasy ceasefire. Iranian authorities have increasingly relied on large-scale public events and patriotic messaging to demonstrate domestic solidarity as diplomatic uncertainty and security concerns continue across the region.
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