Iran's IRGC opens ranks to children as young as 12

Weeks after a video of him in a military uniform spread widely online, declaring that "the criminal United States and the Zionist regime" would never gain access to Iran's oil, fifth-grader Alireza Jafari was killed alongside his father in a 10 March drone strike at a Tehran checkpoint. His mother, Sadaf Monfared, later told state media that he had longed for what he called "martyrdom." She said her husband had taken the boy to the checkpoint due to a "shortage of personnel" and to "prepare him for the future." But Jafari's death sits at the centre of a growing pattern in which Iranian children are being pulled into spaces intertwined with the country's military and security apparatus, raising alarm among rights groups and child protection experts who say the practice amounts to a war crime. Residents who have been able to connect to the internet have reported that security checkpoints remain active across the capital and other cities. Some patrols move through neighbourhoods at night carrying the Islamic Republic's flag and loudspeakers. Witnesses have also described teenagers at checkpoints in cities beyond Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has launched a programme called " Defender of the Homeland ," inviting teenagers aged 12 and above to take part in what it describes as "defensive, rescue, and support activities." Rahim Nadali, an official with Tehran's IRGC unit, said the programme would assign children to tasks including patrolling and manning checkpoints. Recruitment would take place in Basij-affiliated mosques and at city squares hosting pro-government rallies. The Basij, a paramilitary force under IRGC control with roughly one million members, has long served as a tool for suppressing street protests. A programme for children as young as 12 Maryam Dehkordi, a child rights activist, told The New Arab that the current mobilisation of children follows a pattern stretching back decades. "Using children in Iran has a precedent going back to the early years after the 1979 revolution," she said, "though back then it was not as organised or state-controlled as it is today." During the revolution, children featured in both ideological campaigns and armed activities, later celebrated in official narratives as expressions of national pride. The Iran-Iraq war saw individuals under 18 on the frontlines and in support roles. Dehkordi said the practice intensified whenever the government needed to project strength or fill workforce gaps. "The main reason the Islamic Republic uses children today is as human shields," she said. "Schools, parks, playgrounds, and public spaces that should be for normal civilian life have been converted into government vehicle parking lots, assembly points, or bases. The regime seeks to use civilian casualties to gain political and propaganda advantage." She pointed to recent examples as evidence that the trend is accelerating. During the protests of 2022 and later in December 2025, teenagers in Basij uniforms, and sometimes armed, were seen on the streets, even promoted in state media, she said. “Recent programmes show that these underage forces are not limited to support activities. They are also present at checkpoints and on urban patrols." The damage that follows Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Geneva Conventions, using children under 15 in military operations constitutes a war crime . Optional protocols extend that protection to anyone under 18. Iranian law itself sets 18 as the minimum age for military service. One of the most difficult dimensions of the issue is how normalised children's presence in these settings has become. A child standing beside a parent at a checkpoint may appear voluntary or natural. But experts stress that a child's consent, or a family's, cannot justify this kind of exposure. Shima Satari, a psychologist and child rights activist, told The New Arab that the harm runs deep. "A child under 18 has not yet developed the cognitive maturity to make decisions of this complexity," she said. "They cannot fully understand the real consequences of their actions, whereas an adult knows what they are risking." What looks like a child's choice, Satari argued, is something else entirely. "The child is not the real decision-maker. The beliefs and education imposed on them guide them along this path," she said. "This is, in effect, an abuse of the child. They do not understand what war truly means. They may have only seen it in cartoons or movies, but even then, their decisions are driven by excitement and detachment from reality." She warned that even children as young as 12 face devastating consequences when placed in conflict zones. Physical injury, the loss of limbs, and the death of family members are all risks. But the psychological toll is often the most lasting. "War experience can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, which can affect a person for years or even a lifetime, especially if the trauma occurs during childhood," she said. "Children in these situations have neither made a conscious choice nor understood their circumstances. Nothing can justify the level of harm inflicted upon them." Guns in small hands Accounts from inside Iran bear this out. Bita Zabihi, a mother of two, described seeing several teenagers at a Tehran checkpoint. "They had guns in their hands, aimed at cars," she said. "I was terrified and asked if the weapons were real. The person in charge said, 'They're not toys.' They stopped and searched vehicles. The children were short and small. They hadn't even grown facial hair yet." An Iranian journalist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described a 12-year-old neighbour who had been participating in nightly Basij programs. When asked if he feared death, the boy replied: "We do not fear martyrdom. Nothing is lost by it. If we die, we go to paradise. We sacrifice our lives for our country. My father says they want to take our oil from us and build an economy for themselves." The journalist said the boy was repeating words he had absorbed at home without grasping their meaning. "How much can a 12-year-old understand concepts like death, martyrdom, or paradise?" he asked. "These children should be holding pencils and paper, not guns. Exposing them to such environments is a profound betrayal of their childhood." Human Rights Watch has described the IRGC recruitment programme as a "serious violation of child rights" and, for children under 15, a war crime. Bill Van Esveld of the organisation said there was "no justification for militarising children, especially 12-year-olds," adding that "Iranian authorities appear willing to risk children's lives to increase manpower." This story was produced in collaboration with Egab .