Terrifying footage has emerged from the heart of Iran showing the Islamic Republic frantically training women and young children to handle high-powered assault weapons, amid a chilling military escalation with the United States.
The state-sponsored call to arms comes as a direct, panicked response to President Donald Trump floating the idea of arming ordinary Iranian citizens to spark defense and regime change from within.
Now, the regime has launched an aggressive counter-strategy - sending a clear message to the West.
In central Tehran, chilling scenes show crowds gathered around Revolutionary Guard handlers at specially erected military booths.
There, ordinary citizens, including women and young children, are being taught how to operate AK-47 assault rifles every single night, preparing them for the moment they may have to defend the regime from renewed American attacks.
An inside source within Iran has exposed the grim reality behind these public weapon-training drives, warning that the regime is arming its base to crush domestic rebellion.
When asked who exactly is receiving this lethal training, the source revealed: 'They are the pro-regime guys teaching everyone how to use these guns. But at the moment, the uprising and Reza Pahlavi's call, these guns will be in the hands of pro-regime supporters to kill protesters.'
The insider added that the Islamic Republic is facing a massive crisis of loyalty and manpower, forcing them to rely on foreign militants to maintain their iron grip on power.
'[The regime] lost a lot of manpower and cannot rely solely upon their local mercenaries. That is why the regime has invited their proxies from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan too. They are afraid of the strength of the people.'
An inside source within Iran has exposed the grim reality behind these public weapon-training drives, warning that the regime is arming its fanatical base to crush domestic rebellion
Now, the regime has launched an aggressive counter-strategy - sending a clear message to the West
One insider added that the Islamic Republic is facing a massive crisis of loyalty and manpower, forcing them to rely on foreign militants to maintain their iron grip on power
The source delivered a defiant message, making it clear that the people of Iran intend to finish the regime themselves: 'Everyone knows [that] to topple the regime, you need boots on the ground, and this time it is the Iranian people who will cut off the head of the snake - not the American soldiers.'
A second Iranian source tells the Daily Mail: 'I think they (the Iranian regime) knows they don't have the support from their forces and [for] next uprising they need to kill as many as they can so they are teaching their thugs.'
Iranian state networks crossed into an open spectacle this week.
On one network, TV presenter Hossein Hosseini stunned viewers by completely disassembling and reassembling a Kalashnikov rifle live on air, before firing live rounds directly into a UAE flag inside the studio.
It didn't stop there.
On the same day, another state TV host, Mobina Nasiri, delivered a chilling pledge to the cameras, vowing that 'in case of need, she and all women will join the war as cannon-fodder.'
This domestic radicalization comes as a 'full-scale' American military attack on Iran, planned for today, was narrowly averted Trump changed his mind at the eleventh hour.
Trump stood down American forces after Middle Eastern leaders personally pleaded with him to allow one final attempt at negotiating a nuclear deal.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump announced he would 'not follow through' with the devastating strike, doubling down on his conviction that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon under any peace agreement.
A second Iranian source tells the Daily Mail: 'I think they (the Iranian regime) knows they don't have the support from their forces and [for] next uprising they need to kill as many as they can so they are teaching their thugs'
Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of Iran's national security commission, said Trump 'should be dealt with by every Muslim and every free person'
Iran has seized on oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz by deploying speed boats
An oil tanker burns after being hit by an Iranian strike in the ship-to-ship transfer zone at Khor al-Zubair port near Basra, Iraq, late Wednesday, March 11
AH-64 Apaches flying above the Strait of Hormuz during a patrol on April 17
Trump agreed to halt the strikes following intense, last-minute lobbying from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as the rulers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
'I have been asked... to hold off on our planned military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow,' Trump wrote.
The President stated that 'serious negotiations are now taking place' and that America's Gulf allies firmly believe a deal can be struck 'which will be very acceptable' to the United States.
'This deal will include, importantly, no nuclear weapons for Iran! Based on my respect for the above mentioned Leaders,' Trump added.
However, the threat of total war still looms large. Trump noted that he has officially instructed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the US Army to stand ready for a 'full, large-scale assault' on Iran if the current talks fail.
Despite the diplomatic pause, high-stakes negotiations with Iran are reportedly hanging by a thread.
An official close to the situation revealed that the latest offerings from Tehran made little to no improvement on their previous rigid positions.
One official told Axios: 'We are really not making a lot of progress. We are at a very serious place today. The pressure is on them to be responsive in the right way.'
With the US military remaining on a hair-trigger and Tehran turning its own television studios into firing ranges - can diplomacy can survive the week?