Iranian women trained with missiles, drones as regime seeks recruits for ‘self-sacrifice’ campaign

Iranian state media published images of women training in missile use, urban warfare, firearms, and drone operations as part of a new military training campaign.

Female supporters of the Islamic Republic have begun training with Misagh, a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile system designed to engage low-flying aircraft and drones, as part of training for the regime’s Janfada (self-sacrifice) campaign, according to images published by Iranian state media on Monday.

In addition to training with the missile system, the women were photographed holding firearms, learning to operate drones, and participating in what was described as “urban exercises” as part of the campaign’s first military training course.

Sasan Zare, spokesperson for the Jan Fada Movement, told the Iranian Student News Agency that the idea of “self-sacrifice” is part of the identity of the Iranian people.

“Recently, we have encountered a strange phenomenon; a large number of people from abroad are sending messages and saying that we are not Iranians, but we are ready to fight side by side with the Iranian people in the fight against America and the Zionist regime,” she claimed. “This phenomenon was formed with the national identity of Iranians, and today it is multiplying in the number of free and free people in the world."

The training course was reportedly held in multiple cities across Iran and included training in self-defense, first aid and rescue, crisis management, wilderness survival, urban warfare, rappelling, shooting, operating FPV drones, and familiarization with various firearms.

Women’s military service remains limited under Iranian law

Though women are exempt from compulsory military service in the Islamic Republic, they can volunteer for service. Under Article 32 of Iran’s Army Law, women may be employed by the army only in medical and health-related positions, while their transfers should, where possible, take their husbands’ service conditions into account, according to the Austrian Center for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD).

Even though women are denied career positions in the Islamic Republic, under Article 151 of the Constitution, the Basij Mostazafan unit is obliged to provide optional basic military training facilities for female citizens.\

Iran reportedly recruits minors amid military personnel shortages

Despite the compulsory military service, the Islamic Republic has reportedly experienced severe personnel shortages in recent years, leading to the recruitment of minors in violation of international law. In March, Rahim Nadali, the cultural and artistic deputy of the IRGC’s Mohammad Rasoulollah Corps, told Iran’s Defa Press Agency that children aged 12 and up would be enlisted to help at checkpoints. His comments came within days of the death of  11-year-old Alireza Jafari, who was killed at a military checkpoint while “on duty,” according to the Basij Teachers Organization.

Zare claimed that more than 500,000 women registered within 100 minutes of registration opening for the “National Resistance" battalions, filling the first 1,000 units.