Iranian MPS Volunteer For Gaza Front Lines

Approximately 150 Iranian MPs have volunteered to serve in the Iran-backed Hamas' war on Israel which broke out on October 7.

MP Ahmad Hossein Fallahi said Wednesday that many of the current parliament members are veterans of the Iran-Iraq War, a war which ended in 1988. This would make the average age of these men at least 50.

He claimed the commanders, who have front line experience in the likes of Syria and have served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, are willing to go to Gaza's front lines against Israel.

Those unwilling to pick up arms have also “voluntarily chosen to have deductions from their November salaries to provide financial assistance”, he said. The contributions have ranged from 50 to one billion rials, which is roughly equivalent to $100 to $2000.

Fallahi emphasized that there is no immediate need for direct military deployment by Iran, as there are already permanent Iranian military personnel in the region who are “countering aggressors”, referring to its proxies in Lebanon, Yemen and Syria which have been attacking Israel from its other borders. Meanwhile, a team of Iranian reporters has joined the Iranian Red Crescent which claims to be taking aid for Gaza via Egypt.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, a member of the National Security Commission of the Parliament, repeated regime warnings which have been issued since the beginning of the war, saying that if Israel continues its ground operation in the Hamas controlled strip, "the Islamic Republic may strike them in a way they had never imagined."

The Iranian regime's recent campaign to recruit fighters for the Hamas war against Israel has faced skepticism and ridicule on social media. Many Iranians view the campaign as a propaganda effort. Additionally, logistical challenges, especially for individuals with Iranian passports, make it improbable for civilians to participate in the conflict, even if the Iranian regime were to engage in it.