Iran Holds Mass Weddings in Tehran for Couples in State Sacrifice Scheme

Iranian authorities held mass public weddings in Tehran late on Monday for couples who signed up to a state-sponsored scheme declaring their readiness to sacrifice their lives in the war against the United States and Israel. The ceremonies 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.

Couples arrived at the Imam Hossein square in military jeeps with mounted machine guns and were married on a stage in a ceremony presided over by a cleric.

The stage was festooned with balloons and featured a giant image of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Iranian authorities say millions of people, including speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian, have put their names forward for the so-called "self-sacrifice" scheme.

Those involved pledged to put their lives on the line in the war by, for example, forming human chains outside power stations. Mehr news agency reported that 110 couples had taken part in the Imam Hossein square ceremony alone.

U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening new military action against Iran amid a shaky ceasefire which halted the fighting that began on February 28. "Certainly, the country is at war, but young people also have the right to marry," one young woman in a white Islamic bridal dress said beside her groom in footage published by the Mehr news agency.

A man in a dark suit said they were happy the occasion marked the anniversary of the marriage of the prophet Ali to Fatima. Since the start of the war, Iranian authorities have held on a near-daily basis major pro-government gatherings in a bid to highlight popular mobilisation amid the conflict.