Prior to the event, the authorities called it a march of 313,000 people, although footage broadcast by state television did not appear to justify this claim. In Twelver Shia tradition, 313 is the number of the core companions of Mahdi, the messianic hidden imam who will reappear near the end times to establish justice.<\/p>\n
Hassan Hassanzadeh, head of IRGC in Tehran, told state broadcaster IRIB that more than 600,000 people had heeded the call this week for the active mobilisation part of the campaign by registering on a website.<\/p>\n
The authorities said more than one million people were expected to sign up, and that they had already formed an initial 1,000 units, described as \u201cbattalions\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"Women](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ap_6aafd1498f176-1789907273.jpg\")
Women watch the state-organised \u2018Janfada\u2019 military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, on Septermber18, 2026 [Vahid Salemi\/AP]<\/p>\n
The Janfada campaign raised eyebrows<\/a> just one month after its launch in late March when authorities claimed that more than 31 million people \u2013 which represents just over a third of Iran\u2019s total population \u2013 had registered. It would also be more than half of the over-12 population, men and women.<\/p>\n Foreign-based activists accessed the website\u2019s source code, which showed that fewer than four million people had registered. Only a phone number was required for registry, with no national identification number needed.<\/p>\n After the controversy, a ticker showing the number of recruits slowed down significantly, but then, the IRGC\u2019s Hassanzadeh claimed on Friday that 33 million people are now registered. Authorities have not released documentation to back their figures.<\/p>\n The mobilisation effort is not exclusively military, as organisers said 26 percent of registrants selected military and security work, with other categories including rescue, social services, media, and financial support.<\/p>\n President Masoud Pezeshkian asked the volunteers during Friday\u2019s parade to tangibly help his administration by consuming less fuel, electricity and other resources at a time when the country is challenged by energy imbalance<\/a> and wider economic turmoil.<\/p>\n The government increased the price of fuel and limited petrol quotas allocated to personal vehicles earlier this month as it battles a budget crunch and fuel production shortfalls related to the war.<\/p>\n Iranian households and industries have also been afflicted, with intermittent power blackouts throughout the summer, with the upcoming cold season expected to bring more natural gas shortages in the resource-rich country.<\/p>\n Focus on children<\/p>\n The latest display of the \u201csacrifice\u201d campaign in Tehran focused on children. Some teenagers were shown wielding assault rifles and other weapons during Friday\u2019s military exercise, while others marched in the procession. Armed teenagers have been seen manning checkpoints and roadblocks on the streets of Tehran and other cities over recent months.<\/p>\n Sasan Zare, the spokesman of the Janfada campaign, told the state-linked Iranian Labour News Agency on Saturday that boys over 15 have been allowed to register for the campaign, but that there were also plans for under-15s to be recruited.<\/p>\n \u201cOur effort concerning children and teenagers, first and foremost, is to introduce them to the culture of sacrifice and resistance,\u201d Zare said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe stronger their value system is formed from childhood, and the more they become familiar with concepts like patriotism and self-sacrifice, the more significant the impact can be on their future.\u201d<\/p>\n Women also featured heavily during Friday\u2019s display, with many chador-clad volunteers wielding weapons on the streets.<\/p>\n Some of them were shown riding on motorcycles, despite women being officially banned from doing so in civilian life.<\/p>\n During Friday\u2019s parade, Iranian military hardware used in the war against the US and Israel went on public display.<\/p>\n The efforts come as Iran and the US clash over the future of the Strait of Hormuz and the outcome of the war. The US continues to impose a naval blockade of Iran\u2019s southern ports and has intensified its sanctions on the country.<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ap_6aafd173442e5-1789907315.jpg\")
An armed Shia cleric rides aboard a military vehicle past a billboard depicting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, during the state-organised \u2018Janfada\u2019, or \u2018Sacrifice for Iran\u2019, military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, September 18, 2026. [Vahid Salemi\/AP]What\u2019s the purpose?<\/p>\n