Iran's London embassy urges Iranians in Britain to recruit their children as martyrs

Peter Stevens
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 02:16:57 +0000

Iran's London embassy has called for Iranians to recruit their children to become martyrs and "sacrifice their lives for the homeland".

A post uploaded to the embassy's Telegram channel called on some 114,000 Iranians to "defend" their country's land in the so-called "Sacrificing Life for the Homeland Campaign".

The post directly urged Iranians to register interest with authorities and specifically references recruiting "children".

Uploaded on April 15 and first seen by the Metro, it read: "All brave and distinguished children of Iran are invited to participate consciously and register in this campaign, adding another golden page to the book of honours of this ancient land and demonstrating that their hearts are bound to the dignity and greatness of their homeland."

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Concluding in poetic verse, it said: "Let us all, one and all, give our lives in battle. Rather than surrender our country to the enemy."

The Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel called for the Home Office and police to intervene in response to the post.

She said it was "appalling" that Iran was trying to use Britain as a "recruiting ground".

Dame Priti added: "Keir Starmer should show some backbone and summon the Iranian ambassador to explain himself.

"The Home Secretary and the police must immediately investigate and intervene to ensure the British people are kept safe."

The Metropolitan Police earlier this month warned of Iranian proxies being used to carry out terrorist attacks, with 26 people now arrested by counter-terror officers since late March.

The embassy asked expats to register their involvement through the Mikhak system, an online portal run by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and used by Iranians abroad for passport renewals, birth certificates, and death certificates.

The channel behind the Telegram is linked on the Embassy's website and dates back to August 2021.

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Helen Blake, co-founder of the campaign group United4Mahsa, said the post showed the Iranian regime was "running out of existing human resources" and had turned to social media.

She added: "This should be yet another clear alarm to Keir Starmer and the Labour Government to not hold any negotiations with the Islamic Republic’s regime and proceed with the proscription of the IRGC, the entity that is currently running the country."

Sir Keir Starmer vowed on Friday to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group in the next parliamentary session.

A spokesman for the Iranian Embassy told Metro: "Iranians around the world have always cared deeply about their homeland and the protection of its territorial integrity and they always will.

"The 'Jan Fada' platform is intended for all Iranians who wish to support and defend their country, and it does not promote any form of hostility. Any claims or assumptions to the contrary are simply unfounded. Such biased judgments are made hastily and without proper understanding."

A Government spokesman said: "We take the safety of the public incredibly seriously and investigate all allegations of threat thoroughly.

"We are clear-eyed about the threats posed by Iran, and our first priority is protecting British interests and British lives both in the UK and overseas.

"Work is well underway to bring forward proscription-like powers to clamp down on malign state activity."