Iranian authorities organized mass wedding ceremonies in Tehran for couples who had registered in a state-sponsored program and declared their readiness to sacrifice their lives in the war their country is fighting against Israel and the United States.

Media reports stated that the celebrations, which took place late on Monday, included hundreds of couples and were held in several major squares in the capital, including one hundred couples in Imam Hussein Square in central Tehran.

The ceremonies were broadcast on state television in an effort to boost morale during wartime, especially amid threats by US President Donald Trump to resume strikes on Iran, within the context of a fragile truce that came into effect on April 8.

Mass wartime-themed weddings in Tehran (AFP).

Iranian media reported that the participants had joined what is called the “self-sacrifice initiative,” under which they pledged to sacrifice their lives during the war by forming human chains outside power stations.

The authorities said that millions of people, including well-known figures such as Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian, had also joined the initiative.

The couples arrived at Imam Hussein Square in military jeeps equipped with machine guns, where their marriages were conducted on a stage in a ceremony led by a cleric.

The stage was decorated with balloons and a giant image of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since taking office after the death of his father, the former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the US Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic on February 28, which led to the outbreak of war in the Middle East.

In footage broadcast by the Mehr News Agency, a young woman wearing a white wedding dress said while standing next to her groom, “Of course, the country is at war, but young people also have the right to get married.”

A young man in a dark suit standing beside his bride also expressed happiness that the occasion coincided with the anniversary of Imam Ali’s marriage to Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad.

He said, “We have received their blessings. Moreover, we came to extend our best wishes to people in the streets.”

The Mehr Agency reported that 110 couples participated in the Imam Hussein Square ceremony alone. AFP images showed crowds of well-wishers holding roses and watching the ceremony.