In Iran's capital Tehran, 11-year-old Alireza Jafari was killed in an air strike while manning a security checkpoint alongside his father, highlighting a new initiative to recruit children into security roles. His mother, Sadaf Monfared, told the municipality-run newspaper Hamshahri that they were killed on March 11 while assisting Basij volunteer militia patrols and checkpoints to "maintain the security of Tehran and its people." This incident has drawn international scrutiny to Iran's alleged practices involving minors in military and security operations.

Last week, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official in Tehran reportedly told the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency that the organization would enroll "volunteers" aged 12 and above. The new program, known as Homeland Defender Fighters for Iran, purportedly aims to place children on duties such as patrols and deployment at checkpoints. The Basij, a volunteer militia controlled by the IRGC with an estimated one million members, is often deployed to suppress dissent, and Israel has claimed to target Basij checkpoints recently.

According to the BBC, four eyewitnesses have reported seeing children under 18, including some armed, at checkpoints in Tehran, the nearby city of Karaj, and the northern city of Rasht. Golnaz, a witness in east Tehran, stated she saw armed teenagers with Basij forces after an air strike on March 9, while Sara in west Tehran described a teenager holding a gun at a checkpoint on March 25, stopping and searching cars. These accounts suggest a broader pattern of child involvement in security operations amid ongoing tensions.

Human rights organizations have condemned this practice as a grave violation of children's rights and a potential war crime. Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated in a report: "It is a grave violation of children's rights and a war crime when the children are under 15." Bill Van Esveld of HRW added, "There is no excuse for a military recruitment drive that targets children to sign up, much less 12-year-olds. What this boils down to is that Iranian authorities are apparently willing to risk children's lives for some extra manpower." Experts warn that deploying untrained minors in such roles could escalate violence and endanger civilians.

Analysts view this development as indicative of deeper challenges within Iran. Holly Dagres, an Iran specialist at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the BBC that the use of children at security checkpoints "underscores the desperation of the Islamic Republic." She noted it shows "how deeply unpopular they are with their own population that it is struggling to recruit adults to staff security checkpoints and is resorting to using children in support roles during wartime." This reflects broader societal friction and the economic and geopolitical costs faced by Iran's government amid internal and external pressures.

Source: www.bbc.com