Weapon Training on Iranian Television Programs

WANA (May 17) – The broadcasting of several television programs on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), centered on weapon utilization training and displaying a military atmosphere, has been accompanied by widespread reactions in the media and social networks in recent days.

In one of these programs broadcast on the Ofogh channel, an educational segment related to handling a Kalashnikov rifle was shown. In this item, an individual in military attire and with a masked face explains the method of preparing and firing the weapon to the host.

In the final part, the program’s host fires toward an image of the United Arab Emirates flag placed within the studio decor.

In reaction to this program, an Israeli journalist wrote that Iran’s state channel, Ofogh, broadcast an instructional video on how to use a Kalashnikov; an action that, according to him, could be both a sign of Tehran’s concern regarding the possibility of renewed US military action and be considered an attempt to instill an atmosphere of emergency and alert in public opinion. He described this approach as a “rather clumsy display.”

Simultaneously, some other programs of Iran’s state television went on the air with the presence of hosts who held weapons or spoke of their readiness to participate in war.

Mobina Nasiri, a host on Channel 3, appeared in one of these programs holding a weapon and announced that, if necessary, she would participate in the war “along with other women” and they would join the war as a “Jan-Fada.”

“Jan-Fada” is the title of a campaign launched in recent weeks following threats regarding a US and Israeli ground attack on Iran, with the aim of declaring the Iranian people’s readiness to participate in confronting the US and Israel and defending Iran. So far, more than 31 million Iranians have registered in this campaign.

Segments of these programs were republished in domestic media and social networks, drawing mixed reactions. Some users evaluated this type of programming as a sign of preparing public opinion in the tense atmosphere of the region, while others criticized the normalization of displaying weapons in the national media.

Jackson Hinkle, an American political analyst, wrote in a post on the social network X that Iranian state television is training [people] on how to use a Kalashnikov within the framework of “preparation for a potential US ground invasion.”

The broadcasting of these programs takes place under circumstances where Iran, the US, and Israel—following about 40 days of direct military conflict that began on February 28—are now in a state of fragile ceasefire and indirect negotiations.

Although the attacks have stopped, political and military officials on different sides continue to warn about the possibility of conflict resumption, and the Iranian media space has also, over the past days, increasingly addressed the subject of “public readiness” and “popular defense.”