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IRGC Lowers Age for War Support Roles to 12 in New ‘For Iran’ Drive

Rights groups say the policy breaches child-protection law.

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IRGC recruits child soldiers to operate Basij checkpoints targeted by Israel
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have lowered the minimum age for war-related support roles to 12.
Young boys in military uniforms, as members of the Basij paramilitary force under the command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), carry symbolic gallows during a military rally in downtown Tehran, Iran, on January 10, 2025. The Basij Resistance Force, commonly known as the Basij, is established on December 26, 1979, by the order of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. According to Article 13 of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Employment Regulations, a Basiji is a volunteer who joins the IRGC's 20-million-strong force. The Basij plays a significant role in Iran's history, particularly during the Iran-Iraq War, and continues to be a prominent paramilitary force under the IRGC. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty

Overview

  • The IRGC, which announced Thursday that it cut the minimum age to 12 under a campaign called For Iran, said children may help with patrols, checkpoints, and logistics.
  • Accounts from Tehran describe teenagers in plainclothes at checkpoints searching cars and in some cases firing warning shots after recent strikes.
  • Iranian outlets and Radio Farda report that sign-ups are being routed through mosques and registration booths in central squares, with state TV touting checkpoint tours as a duty.
  • Activists and groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say recruiting minors violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while the breadth of deployments has not been independently verified.
  • The move fits a pattern of youth mobilization through the Basij and during the Iran–Iraq War, and it comes during a widening US–Iran conflict as President Donald Trump urges Tehran to pursue a deal.