Tehran Book Fair visitors pose against Syria destruction scenes

Visitors to this year's Tehran Book Fair have been taking part in a new attraction: posing as war heroes in front of pictures of war-ravaged Syria.

The exhibit, called “Defenders of the Shrine,” sees participants don a tin helmet and straddle a black motorbike to pose in front of a large image of a bombed-out residential street in Syria.

Images of visitors posing at the exhibit were published by IRNA, the Iranian state news agency this week.

The accompanying article said the exhibit gave visitors the opportunity to get a “digital and spiritual photo”.

In one of the featured pictures, a smiling man pulls the pin out of a grenade with his teeth as he flashes the victory sign. The fair, which closes on 14 May, opened on 4 May as Iranian forces in Syria began suffering one of their toughest weeks since their involvement in the country's conflict began.

Iran denies having troops on the ground in Syria, maintaining that Iranian “volunteers” are fighting in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

On 7 May, though, military authorities admitted that 13 “military advisers,” all from the northern province of Mazandaran, had been killed in a day of fighting in the province of Aleppo, the biggest death toll for Iranian fighters in a single day since the country became involved in the conflict in 2012.

Amid rising death tolls for Iranian fighters – and Afghan nationals who are reportedly sent to fight in exchange for money and legal residence in Iran – there are signs that public opinion is turning against the intervention.

The Book Fair exhibit, the first of its kind since the country's involvement in Syria began, attracted some criticism on social media from Iranians.