Around 400 volunteers signed up in Tehran to sacrifice their lives in "occupied Islamic countries" on Wednesday night, inspired by a fatwa from a top conservative cleric giving religious backing to suicide missions. Wednesday's registration session was the latest by a group called the Committee for the Commemoration of Martyrs of the Global Islamic Campaign, which says it has enrolled 35,000 volunteers nation-wide for possible attacks since last year.

Iran's pro-reform government has repeatedly said it would not allow groups to carry out such attacks and no Iranians are thought to have directly executed suicide bombings in Israel or elsewhere in recent years.

But the presence of President Mohammad Khatami's adviser on women's affairs and a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leant some official backing to Wednesday's event.

In a dark hall decorated with pictures of female Palestinian suicide bombers, dozens of men and women queued to fill out registration forms.

"As a Muslim, it is my duty to sacrifice my life for oppressed Palestinian children," said Maryam Partovi, 31, a mother of two.

A banner hanging over the main entrance quoted Khamenei as saying: "Sacrificing oneself for religion and national interest is the height of honour and bravery."

Copyright Reuters, 2005