Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf claims that seven million Iranians are ready to fight against any US ground invasion of the Islamic Republic.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has been talked about as a possible negotiating partner with the US, has published a series of messages on the Internet challenging America since the beginning of the war.
“At this moment, in less than a week, a strong national campaign spreading across the country has gathered about seven million Iranians who have already come forward and declared that they are ready to take up arms and stand in defense of our nation,” X wrote online.
This claim has been circulating on social networks for days. Qalibaf is the first high-ranking official to mention it in Iran, a country with about 90 million inhabitants.
It is not clear where this figure comes from, but state media and text message campaigns are urging people to volunteer.
The government also invited retired soldiers to express their interest in fighting.
Qalibaf also recalled the family story of a brother who died during the defense of the country against Iraqi aggression.
“When I was eighteen years old, I picked up a rifle and went straight into battle to defend the soil of my beloved, indestructible Iran, the only home I’ve ever had. My own brother, Hassan, gave his all in that same fight for our homeland. He never returned home. To this day, it hurts me not to be able to hug him one more time. That kind of pain never leaves a man. And he wasn’t the only one. I lost brothers who weren’t my blood, but they were just as much family, people who fought like lions and became a part of me forever,” Qalibaf wrote.
He said that they give everything they have for the country they love.
“We gave our youth, our blood and our every tomorrow for Iran. We are not warmongers. But when the time comes to defend the homeland, each of us becomes a soldier,” the Iranian politician wrote in an emotional message.
