Iran's army plans to start training volunteers as part of a program to prepare citizens for "national defense", reports the Iranian WANA news agency. Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Alian-Nejad, the deputy commander for training and education of the Iranian ground forces, announced that the program will start in Tehran at three training centers. According to him, servicemen of four types of armed forces will be sent to several specially selected platforms, where the volunteers will first undergo basic military training, and then they will be able to continue training with more advanced programs. Iranian authorities have not specified how many citizens are planned to be involved in the program and whether it will be extended to other regions of the country.