War Readiness: Iranian TV Begins Airing Rifle Handling Instructions, UAE Flag Targeted

Iran’s state television has begun broadcasting weapon-training programmes, including lessons on how to operate rifles and machine guns, amid tensions with the United States. The airing of these programmes marks a shift in the type of content broadcast by the country’s public broadcaster. The programmes show how to assemble and disassemble Kalashnikov rifles and PK machine guns. IRIB, Iran’s Islamic Republic’s state broadcaster, the country’s only television network, is controlled by conservatives, and its director is appointed by the Supreme Leader of Iran. In a live broadcast on Channel 3, dedicated to Kalashnikov training, a masked man wearing the uniform of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) demonstrated how to use the weapon. The presenter then prepared the rifle and sought permission from an IRGC officer to shoot the UAE flag in the studio, which he did in the live broadcast.