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As tensions continue in West Asia, Iran’s state broadcaster has begun openly airing firearms training programmes for civilians, with television presenters and instructors handling and firing assault rifles live on air. Parallel weapons drills involving ordinary citizens and teenagers are being conducted in public spaces across the country as part of what authorities describe as a nationwide preparedness and defence campaign.
Iranian broadcasts have featured demonstrations involving what appeared to be an early East German MPi-KMS assault rifle, a variant of the AK-47 platform chambered in 7.6239mm. The programmes have not been limited to military experts, with TV presenters themselves shown holding and firing weapons as part of on-air educational segments.
Officials have defended it as part of a broader push to promote preparedness, and the programmes are being framed as educational programming at a time of heightened conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
The messaging is also extending beyond television studios. Visuals from Tehran’s Tajrish Square show men and women, young and old, participating in public weapons training exercises, while teenagers have joined drills that Iranian media described as part of a nationwide campaign to prepare society for national defence.
Mohsen Barmehni, deputy head of Iran’s state television network IRIB, defended the move, saying the country’s media must adopt what he described as a wartime posture. He said Iran was confronting “major powers and global oppression” and described weapons familiarisation as part of “educational, cultural and moral” training. According to him, the programmes were intended to teach the concepts of “jihad, resistance and defence”, with TV presenters being used as public models to normalise preparedness among ordinary citizens.
He said the decision to show anchors handling weapons was aimed at conveying that society must remain prepared for conflict and that the public should identify with a collective sense of readiness and responsibility.
In one broadcast on Iran’s state-run Ofogh channel, a TV presenter was seen firing a weapon towards a UAE flag during a live programme. The segment also featured a masked firearms trainer demonstrating the operation of a Kalashnikov rifle.
Iranian media linked the programme to a volunteer campaign titled “Sacrifice Life for Iran”, launched amid the ongoing tensions involving Iran, the United States and Israel. Reports claimed that more than 31 million people had signed up for the campaign.
The military-style messaging has also become increasingly visible in public spaces. Footage from Tehran’s Tajrish Square showed civilians taking part in open-air weapons training, with participants practising firearm handling as Iran expanded mobilisation efforts across the country.
At the same time, teenagers in Kermanshah participated in what Iranian media described as the 78th phase of the nationwide “presence in the field of power” campaign. The event included weapons handling drills, defensive combat training, homeland defence exercises and public mobilisation activities for youth. Iranian authorities described the initiative as part of broader efforts to prepare society for national defence.
The scale and visibility of these programmes have raised questions over whether the Iranian government is preparing civilians for the possibility of a wider regional conflict, whether Tehran is seeking to deter internal unrest, and why state television is openly promoting weapons training to ordinary citizens. From television studios to city squares, the official messaging has increasingly centred on mass mobilisation and public readiness for conflict.
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Published On:
May 18, 2026 11:50 IST
