Under Weapons and Slogans - How Tehran Is Preparing for a War That Is Not Yet Over

Something is changing in Tehran, and it is not happening in secret. Men and women stand in public squares learning how to handle assault rifles. Members of the Revolutionary Guards demonstrate techniques with Kalashnikovs. Military vehicles move through the streets of the capital. At mass events, missiles appear where flags or religious symbols once stood. Even at a wedding celebration, a ballistic missile became part of the staging. In the Iranian capital, weapons are increasingly becoming part of everyday life.

Although the fighting has officially paused, the situation is anything but calm. Donald Trump has made no secret of the fact that another military strike against Iran remains on the table for him if negotiations fail or if Tehran does not change its position regarding the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, Trump had already stated that American forces could secure Iran's highly enriched uranium by force if necessary. Added to that were earlier statements about weapons deliveries to Kurdish groups with ties to government opponents.

In Iran, this situation is not being treated as vague diplomatic tension. It is being carried into the streets.

For months, state television channels and official news programs have been broadcasting calls for people to join the so called Janfada, those willing to sacrifice their lives. According to state officials, more than 30 million people have already registered. That number cannot be independently verified. A broad mobilization like the one seen in Ukraine before Russia's full scale invasion has also not emerged so far. There are no long lines at weapons distribution centers, no images of large numbers of people receiving rifles or building barricades.

Still, visible efforts are being made to maintain a particular atmosphere.

Television hosts on state media appear armed. Public events are accompanied by military symbols. Reports tell stories of people putting their names on lists to volunteer for deployment.

Journalist Soheila Zarfam wrote in a column that at the moment she registered, she was not thinking about danger. She said she was thinking only about Iran. Her life could end, she wrote, but Iran would continue to exist. The message behind it is clear. The leadership is not only trying to project determination toward possible enemies. It is also speaking to its own population.

Because everyday life for many people looks very different from images of military strength. The country is struggling with layoffs, business closures, and rising prices for food, medicine, and everyday goods. Economic pressure continues to grow. Uncertainty has long become part of daily life for many people.

In a situation like this, weapons can take on a second function. They are not only a means of defense against external enemies. They can also serve as a reminder of control. Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi reacted especially sharply to footage showing boys carrying assault rifles. She said such scenes reminded her of the actions of armed groups in other parts of the world.

At the same time, some of what is currently being shown publicly appears less professional than the images initially suggest. Reports resembling a military morning television show covering training events in Tehran described participants struggling with even simple procedures. One participant reportedly had difficulty inserting a rifle magazine and pointed the barrel toward other people nearby. In any basic weapons training program, such an action would be considered a serious safety violation.

We deliberately chose not to include such videos because we do not want to distribute instructions on the handling of weapons.!

The Revolutionary Guards have launched an abhorrent recruitment campaign called “Homeland Defending Fighters for Iran,” which includes children as young as twelve. IRGC officer Rahim Nadali stated on state television that so many young people had demanded to be assigned to checkpoints that the minimum age had been set at twelve.

It is confirmed, and investigations also show, that children with weapons are supporting checkpoints. Amnesty International classifies the recruitment as a war crime under international law. This is not a new pattern - during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, Iran, by its own account, deployed hundreds of thousands of child soldiers, of whom at least 36,000 were killed, and during the Syria war sent Afghan immigrant children to fight for the Assad regime. What is now happening at checkpoints in Iranian cities is the continuation of a history the country has been writing for decades.

Even so, the real effect may lie elsewhere. It does not appear to be only about military capability. It appears to be about visibility. About creating the impression of readiness. One man said during an event that people must learn how to handle weapons because Iran is in a state of war. If something happens, everyone must be prepared.

And perhaps that is the real idea behind these images. Tehran is no longer only talking about a possible next war. It is already trying to prepare society for it.

We live in a time when the world has every path open before it and still chooses the road that once led it into ruins. Dictators, regimes, the far right, and their admirers are not a return of history, they are proof that human beings would rather rule than understand. The world of 2026 proves that memory is not a matter of knowledge but of willingness, and that people would rather be wrong if error promises them power. (Kaizen Blog, May 2026)