Terrifying TV Shift—Iran Broadcasting Rifle Training

Iran’s regime is now teaching ordinary civilians how to fire assault rifles on national television and in city squares, turning the whole country into a televised militia classroom as war tensions climb.

Story Snapshot

Iranian state television is airing step-by-step AK-47 tutorials for civilians, complete with live firing demos.
Regime-linked instructors and anchors invite viewers to attend weapons-training booths in public squares and mosques.
The campaign is framed as “national defence” amid rising tension with the United States and Israel.
Mass gun drills under a theocratic dictatorship pose serious risks for American troops and allies in the region.

State Television Turns Into an AK-47 Classroom

Iranian state television has begun broadcasting detailed assault rifle training segments that walk ordinary viewers through every step of using an AK-47 type weapon, from loading magazines to disassembling and reassembling the rifle on camera.^[1]^[2] An officer tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps appears on the Ofogh channel, instructing a news anchor exactly how to handle, load, and fire the rifle as if he were a new recruit, including chamber checks and sight alignment.^[3] These are not quick patriotic clips; they are methodical, technical lessons.

Broadcast transcripts describe instructors demonstrating how to keep the muzzle pointed in a “safe direction,” switch between firing modes, remove the magazine, rack the bolt, and confirm the chamber is empty before and after firing.^[1]^[2] The host makes clear this is meant for the general public, not just soldiers, repeatedly emphasizing that viewers can learn to operate the weapon themselves. The camera lingers on close-up shots of the rifle’s components, normalizing the presence of combat-grade firearms in a living-room television setting.^[1]

From Studio Sets to City Squares and Mosques

The on-air instruction is only one part of a broader campaign moving directly into Iranian streets, markets, and religious centers. According to the broadcast transcript, the presenter tells viewers that “special booths have been set up throughout the city’s main squares” where civilians are “more than welcome” to receive in-person weapons training, signaling an organized, accessible program rather than a one-off television stunt.^[1] Separate reports describe defence training sessions on light weapons held for civilians at mosques in several cities, further expanding reach.^[3]

Visual reporting shows public weapons drills in busy urban areas, including Tehran’s Tajrish Square, where men, women, and teenagers practice firearm handling under the eye of regime-linked organizers as part of a nationwide “preparedness and defence” effort.^[4] Iranian media frame this as teaching “jihad, resistance and defence,” portraying gun handling as a civic duty and a normal part of public life.^[4] Teenagers join drills advertised as phases of a “presence in the field of power” campaign that mixes basic weapons practice with broader mobilisation activities.^[4]

Anchors With Rifles: Propaganda, Mobilization, or Both?

Civilian gun culture looks very different when it is directed from above by a theocratic regime and its military organs. In one widely shared segment, an officer guides Ofogh anchor Hossein Hosseini through the entire shooting process, including live firing, while the state-run channel broadcasts it as national “public readiness to defend the country.”^[3] Another state-linked presenter, Mobina Nasiri, appears on air holding a rifle and proclaims she is ready to “sacrifice my life for my country,” turning a news desk into a recruitment stage.^[3]

Analysts note that this is happening as Tehran cites fears of possible United States and Israeli strikes, with Western outlets reporting that Iran is preparing civilians for a potential ground invasion scenario.^[3] The regime carefully mixes safety messaging with combat language, talking about “active operational situations” and being “ready to fire,” which goes beyond neutral self-defence instruction.^[1]^[2] Yet the available sources do not reveal how many citizens are actually being trained, how long the booths will operate, or whether attendance is voluntary or quietly pressured through mosques, schools, and workplaces.^[1]^[3]

What This Means for American Security and Conservative Priorities

This state-directed gun mobilization has serious implications for United States forces, Israel, and any regional partner who may one day face Iranian proxies or mass-mobilized militias. A society drilled on basic rifle handling under the direct influence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is easier to activate as a pool of irregular fighters, even if many participants only reach minimal proficiency.^[3]^[4]^[5] For Washington, that means any miscalculation in the region could confront not only formal Iranian units, but loosely trained civilian auxiliaries who see armed confrontation as their religious and patriotic duty.

Iranian state TV just aired footage of an IRGC instructor giving the public a basic AK-47 assault rifle training tutorial. Broadcasting weapon handling lessons to civilians on national television.#Iran #IRGC #AK47 #IranWar #USIranTension pic.twitter.com/0uAAFTCAlR

— Strategic Lens (@StrategicLensHQ) May 17, 2026

For American conservatives who value the Second Amendment, this episode is a reminder that the problem is not responsible citizens learning firearm safety; it is authoritarian regimes turning weapons training into a propaganda tool while crushing individual liberty at home. Iran’s campaign shows how quickly television, schools, and public squares can be commandeered to shape a militarized mindset from childhood on.^[4] As the Trump administration weighs deterrence and containment, policymakers must factor in this televised mobilisation machine when assessing threats, supporting Israel, and keeping American troops out of unnecessary, regime-triggered wars.