As chants of “Death to America” echo through Tehran and civilians train with rifles in public squares, Iran appears to be psychologically preparing its population for a prolonged confrontation with the United States and Israel.

 By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj

Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — 18 May 2026

As night falls over Iran’s sprawling capital, and the snowy peaks of the Alborz mountains fade into the darkness, thousands of Iranians have been routinely taking to the streets for state-sponsored rallies aimed at mobilizing supporters against the United States.

Near Tajrish Square, an upscale neighborhood of Tehran, the inevitable chanting of “Death to America” blares out over a sea of Iranian flags, while street vendors hawk tea and souvenirs, like patriotic baseball caps and patches, to the enthusiastic crowd.

“I am so ready to sacrifice my life for my country and for my people,” one young woman named Tiana, wearing glasses in the colors of the Iranian flag, told me above the deafening chants.

“All the people, the whole army, all commanders that we have, they’re ready to sacrifice their lives too, and ready to fight with their whole heart and soul,” she added, dismissing US President Donald Trump’s latest social media threat to resume military action.

“For Iran, the clock is ticking, and they better get moving, fast, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, further ratcheting up tensions as stalled peace talks undermine a fragile ceasefire.

One elderly man carrying a makeshift placard offered to translate his sign, hand-written in Farsi. “Nuclear and missile technology is as important as our borders, so we will protect them,” it read.

“We need nuclear power, clean energy, not a bomb,” he told me, a reference to Iran’s refusal to end its controversial nuclear program, which Trump has made a condition for ending the war.

“Trump knows we don’t have a bomb, but he is attacking us anyway,” he added.

As swirling rumors and escalating fears mount of imminent US-Israeli strikes, there is a growing sense of inevitability among many Iranians about the resumption of hostilities.

“We know this war isn’t over. We know Trump is not really going to negotiate,” said Fatima, who said she grew up in London and Dubai.

“He’s just going to be, like, ‘You do what I tell you or I’m going to kill you.’ And then he’s going to attack us even if we do as he says,” she added.

The rallies, or “night-gatherings” have been taking place across the country every evening for nearly three months, essentially since the start of the war.

But recent days have seen the ominous appearance of public gun kiosks, where civilians are being offered basic lessons in using weapons – a sign of how the hardening Iranian authorities are readying people for further conflict.

At one kiosk in Vanak Square, we saw a woman dressed in a black chador learning how to handle an AK-47 assault rifle, with a masked man in military fatigues showing her how to strip and assemble the weapon.

A few feet away, a small girl played with an unloaded Kalashnikov, aiming the weapon into the air before pulling the trigger and handing the gun back to her smiling instructor.

The general call to arms is also being reiterated on state television, with several channels broadcasting their hosts brandishing assault rifles.

One male anchor, Hossein Hosseini, on the state-run Ofogh channel, fired his rifle – on live television – into the studio ceiling after receiving a lesson from a masked member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.

Separately, a female Channel-3 presenter, Mobina Nasiri, addressed viewers while grasping an assault rifle with both hands.

“They sent me a weapon from Vanak Square so that I too, like all of you people, can learn how to use it,” she announced.

But not all Iranians are gunning for a fight.

Just around the corner from the rally on Tajrish Square, in a tranquil park near the Cinema Museum of Iran, locals perused an open-air book stall and sipped tea, while couples strolled hand in hand.

“No to war,” said one young man as he passed by.

Sitting on a park bench with her husband, one woman, a university professor who asked not to be identified, told me how they both desperately wanted Iran to change.

“We just want to live in a normal country, where our children can have a future,” she whispered in English.

“We want peace,” a young woman said, further hinting at the diversity of opinion in Iran.

But with the mood in the Islamic Republic increasingly tense, and the country potentially on the brink of a resumption of war, all but the hardline official messaging seems to be drowned out.

Iran’s Psychological Shift Toward “Permanent Conflict”

Perhaps the most alarming development is not the rallies themselves, but the gradual militarization of civilian life now unfolding openly in Tehran.

In recent days, public gun-training kiosks have appeared across parts of the city.

At Vanak Square, civilians — including women and children — have reportedly been offered introductory weapons training using AK-47 rifles and Kalashnikovs.

Masked men in military fatigues associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been seen instructing civilians on assembling and handling firearms.

The symbolism is profound.

Governments do not arm civilians publicly unless they believe future conflict may require broader societal mobilization.

This reflects a transition from conventional wartime propaganda toward what analysts describe as “national resistance conditioning” — the process of psychologically preparing an entire population for prolonged confrontation, urban instability, or asymmetric warfare.

Iran appears increasingly focused not merely on military readiness, but on cultivating societal endurance.

State Television Turns Into a War Broadcast

Iran’s wartime atmosphere is now spilling directly into state media.

Television presenters have begun appearing on air carrying assault rifles, reinforcing the message that every citizen must prepare for confrontation.

One state television host reportedly fired a rifle into the ceiling during a live broadcast after receiving instruction from an IRGC member.

Another presenter declared on-air that she had received a weapon so she could “learn how to use it like all the people.”

These broadcasts are designed to normalize militarization within everyday life.

Historically, states facing severe external threats often blur the lines between civilian and military spheres.

The phenomenon recalls wartime propaganda campaigns seen in countries under siege or preparing for national survival conflicts.

For Iran’s leadership, this strategy serves multiple purposes:

• Demonstrating national unity
• Deterring foreign adversaries
• Reinforcing regime legitimacy
• Discouraging internal dissent
• Creating psychological resilience

But it also reveals the seriousness with which Tehran views the threat of renewed war.

Iran’s Society Remains Deeply Divided

Despite the aggressive messaging from the state, not all Iranians support confrontation.

Away from the rallies, a very different Iran still exists.

In parks and cultural spaces near Tehran’s Cinema Museum, ordinary citizens quietly express exhaustion, anxiety, and frustration.

Young couples stroll through quiet gardens while others sip tea and browse books under dim lights — attempting to preserve fragments of normal life amid escalating tensions.

Some openly reject the prospect of war.

A university professor speaking anonymously described a widespread desire among many middle-class Iranians for normalcy, stability, and opportunity rather than endless geopolitical confrontation.

“We just want to live in a normal country,” she reportedly said.

These quieter voices reveal the internal contradiction at the heart of modern Iran.

The Islamic Republic projects defiance externally, yet internally millions of citizens remain weary from decades of sanctions, economic decline, political isolation, and recurring crises.

This divide between state ideology and civilian exhaustion is becoming increasingly visible.

The Risk of a Regional Explosion

The geopolitical stakes are enormous. Any renewed conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States could rapidly engulf the broader Middle East. Potential flashpoints include:

• The Persian Gulf
• Iraq and Syria
• Lebanese-Israeli borders
• Red Sea shipping lanes
• Gulf energy infrastructure

Iran’s regional network of allied militias and proxy forces remains capable of launching retaliatory attacks across multiple theaters simultaneously. Meanwhile, Israeli leaders continue warning they will not tolerate a nuclear-capable Iran under any circumstances. The danger is that all sides increasingly appear trapped inside escalating strategic logic:

• Iran refuses to surrender its deterrence capabilities
• Israel refuses to accept Iran’s military expansion
• Washington refuses to allow Tehran regional dominance

This triangle of irreconcilable objectives creates a highly unstable environment where miscalculation could trigger a major regional war.

Iran Is Preparing for More Than Airstrikes

The public mobilization campaigns suggest Tehran believes future conflict may extend beyond limited airstrikes. Iran’s leadership appears increasingly concerned about hybrid warfare scenarios involving:

• Internal unrest
• Cyber warfare
• Infrastructure sabotage
• Assassinations
• Economic strangulation
• Proxy insurgencies
• Urban instability

By normalizing weapons training and national resistance rhetoric, Tehran is effectively signaling that Iranian society itself may become part of the deterrence architecture. This is a classic doctrine of asymmetric defense: convincing adversaries that military victory would come at an unbearable long-term cost.

Conclusion: A Nation Suspended Between Defiance and Fear

Today’s Iran exists in two parallel realities. One is the Iran displayed at night rallies — defiant, militant, and prepared for sacrifice. The other is quieter and harder to see: a society exhausted by crisis, fearful of another devastating war, and desperate for normalcy. But as tensions with the United States and Israel intensify, the hardline narrative increasingly dominates the public sphere. The appearance of armed civilian training in Tehran is more than propaganda.

It is a warning. Iran’s leadership may genuinely believe the country is approaching a historic confrontation — one that could reshape not only the Islamic Republic, but the future balance of power across the Middle East. And if diplomacy finally collapses, Tehran’s nights may soon become far darker.

#Iran #Tehran #MiddleEast #Trump #Israel #USIran #IRGC #Geopolitics #NuclearCrisis #War #IranIsrael #TehranRallies #MiddleEastConflict #DonaldTrump #IranNuclearProgram