Iran’s army to provide ‘basic military training’ to civilians

• Iran is expanding the “Janfada” campaign into a structured civilian military training program, with basic, intermediate and advanced courses.
• Officials say volunteers could eventually be organized into national resistance battalions and, if needed, deployed to operational areas.

Iran’s army is set to begin training civilian volunteers under the “Janfada” campaign, a program authorities say is designed to strengthen national defense preparedness.

Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Alian-Nejad, the army’s deputy for training and education, said the program would operate from three facilities in Tehran, with personnel from the army’s four branches providing basic military instruction before volunteers move on to more advanced courses.

The army’s involvement comes as Iran has expanded the Janfada campaign from a public mobilization initiative into an organized training network involving the armed forces and the Basij.

Iranian officials have described the training as being conducted at three levels: basic, intermediate and advanced. Reported courses include military preparedness, urban defense, first aid, search and rescue, weapons handling and other defense-related skills.

Basij officials have also announced plans to organize volunteers into as many as 1,000 national resistance battalions, with additional battalions potentially established later.

A September 18 exercise in Tehran was presented by authorities as a major mobilization of Janfada volunteers. Iranian officials claimed hundreds of thousands participated, although those figures could not be independently verified.

The campaign has expanded to include women. Iran held its first reported military training course specifically for selected female Janfada participants in late September, covering military skills, first aid, guerrilla tactics, survival techniques and preparedness for harsh conditions.

Officials have said women participating in the formal training courses are adults, while the broader campaign has also involved younger participants in activities focused on patriotism, first aid and safety. The involvement of minors has drawn scrutiny from rights groups.

The Janfada campaign was launched in March as Iran sought to mobilize civilian support amid the war. Authorities have promoted registration through public events, mosques and Basij facilities.

Iranian officials have claimed that millions have registered, but the scale of participation has been disputed and cannot be independently verified. The Associated Press reported that Iranian authorities had claimed more than 30 million registrations, while noting that the figure could not be independently confirmed.

The expansion of the program marks a shift toward more formal organization and military training of civilian volunteers, with Iranian officials presenting the initiative primarily as preparation for external threats and national defense.