Amir Hossein Banikipour, a member of the Parliamentary Cultural Commission, announced a plan to award the "best Friday Prayer leader" for their efforts in boosting the country's declining fertility rates. 

The announcement came amidst concerns over what he described as "the super-crisis of Iran's history," amidst a plummeting population growth rate. 

He revealed that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei described the population trend as leading to a "horrific future," emphasizing the urgency of reversing the decline. 

The planned National Population Awards next year will commend clerics who excel in promoting higher fertility rates among their congregations. 

Adding to the push, Shakiba Mohebi-Tabar, Secretary of the National Population Council, called the preservation of a youthful demographic as a "divine command," urging for a united effort between religious leaders and the community to tackle the issue. 

Iran’s fertility rate has experienced a dramatic fall, currently sitting at a mere 0.6%, a sharp decline from 1.23% in 2021 and far below the 4.21% observed in 1984, shortly after the Islamic Revolution. With the population having grown from 40 million in the early 1980s to 84 million today, Khamenei has repeatedly voiced his ambition for the population to reach at least 150 million by 2050.