In pictures: Iran stages mass weddings for couples ready for war 'sacrifice'

“Iranian 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. They were broadcast on state TV in a bid to boost wartime morale, with US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening new military action against Iran amid a shaky ceasefire which halted the fighting that began on February 28. Those involved had signed up, according to Iranian media, for the so-called “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 Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian, have put their names forward. 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, AFP images showed. A bride and groom couple rides in a military jeep arriving for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. — AFP A cleric waves while riding as a groom with his bride in a military jeep as they arrive for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. — AFP A bride and groom couple rides in a military jeep arriving for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. — AFP The stage was festooned with balloons and with a giant image of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei , who has yet to appear in public since being elevated to the position after the assassination of his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war. A bride and groom couple rides in a military jeep arriving for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. — AFP “Certainly, the country is at war, but young people also have the right to marry,” one young woman in a white bridal dress, who was not named, said beside her groom in footage published by the Mehr news agency. Bride and groom couples attend a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. — AFP Bride and groom couples attend a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. — AFP A bride and groom couple attends a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. — AFP A man in a dark suit, beside his bride-to-be, said they were happy the occasion marked the anniversary of the marriage of Imam Ali, revered by Shias, to Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). “We received their blessings. Furthermore, we came to offer our best wishes to the people in the streets,” he said. Mehr said 110 couples had taken part in the Imam Hossein square ceremony alone. The AFP images showed crowds of well-wishers clasping roses and watching on. Since the start of the war, Iranian authorities have held major pro-government gatherings on a near-daily basis in a bid to highlight popular mobilisation amid the conflict. Revellers attend a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. — AFP Revellers attend a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. — AFP Sparks fly as bride and groom couples arrive for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. — AFP Header image: A bride and group couple rides in a military jeep arriving for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. — AFP

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