The ceremonies, involving hundreds of couples in several major squares in Tehran, were broadcast on state TV to boost wartime morale
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 7:48pm, 19 May 2026Iranian authorities held mass public weddings in Tehran for couples who signed up to a state-sponsored scheme declaring their readiness to sacrifice their lives in the war against the US and Israel.The ceremonies conducted late on Monday involved hundreds of couples in several major squares in the capital, including more than 100 in the vast Imam Hossein Square in central Tehran, according to reports in Iranian media.
Those involved had signed up, according to Iranian media, for the “self-sacrifice” scheme (janfada in Persian) where people pledged to put their lives on the line in the war by, for example, forming human chains outside power stations.
Iranian authorities say millions of people, including top figures such as speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian, have put their names forward.
