Pezeshkian joins reported 313000 at Sacrifice for Iran parade in Tehran

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attended a Friday parade in Tehran organized under the Sacrifice for Iran campaign. Organizers reported 313,000 participants. Iran's state broadcaster estimated more than 300,000 on the streets. The Associated Press called it the largest government-backed demonstration since U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran in February. Volunteers marched in combat uniforms carrying Iranian flags; some wore burial shrouds. Female Revolutionary Guard members in black headscarves sat alongside truck-mounted machine guns. Anti-aircraft systems and drones were displayed. Some participants trampled U.S. and Israeli flags and chanted Death to America and Death to Israel. Gen Hassan Hassanzadeh said more than 600,000 had registered, with more than 1 million expected to train. Hossein Taeb said the volunteers would be prepared for full-fledged defense and become a nightmare for Iran's enemies, with rallies planned in other cities. Attendee Marzieh Afaghi said she was there to tell Trump that Iranians have no fear about his threats, and that no one in history could invade Iran and remain there. Contested: Organizer and state figures for turnout and nationwide volunteers were not independently verified; activists claim more than 7,000 died in a post-January crackdown, a figure AP said was unverified. The event came amid a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and new sanctions.