Millions of Iranians have reportedly joined coordinated human chain actions to protect key energy infrastructure following reported threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to target power facilities, according to state media reports.
State outlets said the mobilisation was organised through online campaigns and SMS messages, with officials claiming that more than 14 million people registered to take part in nationwide demonstrations aimed at safeguarding strategic sites.
Images published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) showed residents linking arms outside a power facility in the southern city of Bushehr, which hosts Iran’s nuclear power plant. State television and the Mehr news agency also reported similar gatherings outside major installations in Tabriz in the north and Mashhad in the northeast.
Reports also indicated that crowds assembled on a major bridge in Ahvaz, as tensions escalated amid continued strikes and threats involving critical infrastructure across the region.
The mobilisation comes amid heightened tensions in a more than five-week conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, which has already resulted in significant casualties, including senior Iranian figures. Analysts warn that any direct strikes on energy infrastructure could mark a major escalation in the conflict.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, described as a key power figure following recent wartime developments, shared what he said was evidence of his own registration for the campaign, declaring readiness to “sacrifice his life for Iran”.
The phrase associated with self-sacrifice quickly trended on Iranian social media, with officials and supporters amplifying messages of national unity and resistance.
President Masoud Pezeshkian also echoed similar sentiments, saying millions of Iranians had registered to defend the country and expressing his own willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice if necessary.
