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Iran Stages Televised Mass Weddings Tied to ‘Self‑Sacrifice’ War Pledge

The spectacle signaled a push to fold everyday rituals into a state drive for wartime loyalty.

Overview

  • Hundreds of couples were married across central Tehran on Monday, with about 110 at Imam Hossein Square, in ceremonies carried live on state TV.
  • Participants had registered for Janfada, a state program in which volunteers vow self‑sacrifice for the war effort, including pledges such as forming human chains at power stations.
  • Footage showed brides and grooms arriving in military jeeps fitted with machine guns as a cleric presided on a stage set beneath a giant image of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
  • An IRGC cultural official said the plan promotes family formation and social stability, and authorities say millions, including Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian, have signed up as backers.
  • State media framed the broadcast as a morale boost during a fragile ceasefire in the conflict with the United States and Israel, while the timing also aligned with Iran’s National Marriage Day.