“Janfada” Drill: Armed Volunteers, Basij Mobilization and the Unusual Appearance of Female Motorcyclists in Tehran

Armed volunteers in the streets of Tehran

One of the most striking elements of the September 18 event was the visible presence of armed volunteers.

Photographs from the gathering showed participants marching with rifles and other long-barrel weapons.

UPI photographs documented members of the Basij taking part in the mobilization drill, while images distributed by international news agencies showed armed participants marching through central Tehran.

This is significant because previous iterations of the Janfada campaign were often presented primarily as expressions of solidarity, civic participation and national readiness.

The September event presented something more visibly militarized.

According to IranWire, Basij chief Hossein Taeb said hundreds of thousands of people enrolled in the Janfada campaign were being organized into defense battalions and military units. The same report said preliminary and advanced training programs had been established for land, air and naval domains.

That development suggests that the campaign is being positioned by its organizers as more than a symbolic movement.

Instead, it is increasingly being connected with an organizational structure intended to allow civilian volunteers to contribute to defense-related activities.

September 18, 2026 | 5:45 pm