Iran has opened its first military training centre for women volunteers in Tehran's Azadi Square, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday, November 11, as authorities prepare civilians for what they say could be renewed war with the United States and Israel.

Source: Al Jazeera English

The centre, opened on Tuesday, November 10, is part of the Janfada campaign — a Persian term for people ready to sacrifice their lives for Iran — which began registering volunteers in March. Volunteers are organised into small units and battalions for training in urban defence, weapons handling, air defence, search and rescue and firefighting, according to reporting sourced to Iran's West Asia News Agency (WANA).

Awaaz Punjab reported in October how the Janfada mobilisation had spread nationwide, with training stations in squares across all 31 provinces. The Azadi Square opening is the campaign's first centre dedicated to women volunteers. Read the earlier report

A light-weapons instructor told WANA that the courses include sniper-rifle shooting, handling Kalashnikov rifles, the DShK heavy machine gun, handguns and shoulder-fired weapons. Sudabeh Akbari, who heads the women's Basij organisation in the Revolutionary Guards' Greater Tehran corps, said women would also train with micro-drones and in first aid.

Brigadier General Alireza Salarkia, a deputy coordinator of the same corps, said 33 million people had signed up to the campaign and that nearly half were women, according to WANA. That figure is an Iranian official claim carried by a state-linked agency and could not be independently verified.

Similar volunteer centres have opened elsewhere in Tehran, including at Imam Hossein Square, Haft-e Tir Square and Tajrish Square. Military service is compulsory for men in Iran but not for women, who have mostly served in support roles.

Why Tehran is training civilians

The mobilisation follows the war that began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, 2026, and continued fears in Tehran of renewed strikes. Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei said this week that there are currently no negotiations taking place between Tehran and Washington, and that Iran will not allow its enriched nuclear material to leave the country.

For the lakhs of Punjabi and Indian workers living across the Gulf, any renewed US-Iran fighting carries direct risks — shipping disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, oil-price shocks and possible evacuation pressures — which is why Tehran's war preparations are watched closely across the region.