Tehran: Revolutionary Guard opens weapons training centre for women

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps opened a military training centre for female volunteers in Tehran’s Azadi Square on Wednesday. The facility will provide instruction in firearms handling and defensive and military skills as part of the “Sacrifice for the Homeland” programme.

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Iranian media published photographs showing Revolutionary Guard personnel teaching participants how to operate, prepare and load rifles, as well as familiarising them with military equipment. Training also included zip-line activities and the use of other military training equipment.

Located on the western side of Azadi Square, the centre forms part of the “Sacrifice for the Homeland” programme, launched after US and Israeli military attacks on Iran began in February 2026. The initiative aims to recruit and organise civilian volunteers for defence and military activities.

Iranian website Saham News reported that the training included the use of “tactical weapons”, describing it as instruction associated with commando units.

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Brigadier General Alireza Salar-Kia, deputy coordinator of the Revolutionary Guard in Greater Tehran, said women accounted for approximately 50 per cent of the 33 million people who, he claimed, had expressed their readiness to participate in the programme.

Soudabeh Akbari, head of the women’s mobilisation organisation within the Greater Tehran Revolutionary Guard, said volunteers would undergo specialised courses covering light weapons and pistols, familiarisation with air-defence systems, countering small drones and the use of shoulder-fired weapons. The courses will also include first aid, rescue and firefighting training.

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