TEHRAN: Iran Jan-Fada mobilisation organisers said 313,000 people joined a mass defence exercise in the capital Friday as authorities expanded civilian training and volunteer defence units.
The event began at 8 a.m. Tehran time, along a route from Imam Hossein Square to Enghelab Square. Iranian state media described it as a nationwide preparedness campaign.
However, the reported attendance has not been independently verified. IranWire said state media promoted the 313,000 figure while independent confirmation was unavailable.
Campaign officials have separately claimed that more than 31 million people registered for Jan-Fada. Greater Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Brig. Gen. Hassan Hassanzadeh put the figure at 33 million before the exercise.
Those registration totals also remain unverified independently; however, they are official Iranian claims rather than confirmed participation figures.
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Basij chief Hossein Taeb said hundreds of thousands of enrollees in Tehran had already been organised. He said preliminary and advanced training covered ground, air and naval fields. Organisers intend to incorporate volunteers into Iran’s broader defence structure, Iranian media have reported.
Preparations to train and organise 1,000 “national resistance battalions.” Registration for military and relief courses began this week.
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Meanwhile, Friday’s event included Basij units, civilian participants and displays of Iranian drones and other military equipment.
La mobilisation a commencé à Téhéran dans le but de former 1 000 bataillons et sera désormais étendue à l'ensemble du pays
Cette information fait référence à une annonce récente des autorités iraniennes et du quart-général de la campagne civique « Jan-Fada », relayée par des… pic.twitter.com/jgxMj3e3AE
— Brane (@Branech) September 18, 2026President Masoud Pezeshkian also attended and presented the mobilisation as a demonstration of national unity. The Iran Jan-Fada mobilisation also carried explicit political messaging connected to Iran’s conflict with the United States and Israel.
Officials portrayed the campaign as part of a wider strategy to involve civilians in defence and emergency preparedness. It remains unclear how many of the claimed millions of registrants will receive military training or enter operational units.
