Iranians rally in biggest show of defiance against U.S. since war began

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched in Tehran on Friday in what Iranian officials described as the largest show of defiance against the U.S. since the war began, according to Al Jazeera. The government organized the rally and showcased a newly formed volunteer force, which will receive limited military and emergency-response training to add security for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij militia. Attendance was claimed at 313,000 in the capital, but could not be independently verified. Senior leaders including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Basij head Hossein Taeb attended. The government linked the mobilization to a broader defense strategy amid an Iranian economy pressured by a U.S. naval blockade and new U.S. sanctions targeting digital currency networks.