Iran Using Children in Security Roles in War, Reports and Witnesses Say

The killing of an 11-year-old Iranian boy during an air strike, while he was assisting his father at a security checkpoint in Tehran, has drawn attention to Iran’s recent strategy of involving minors in military and security operations. Alireza Jafari’s mother, Sadaf Monfared, reported to the municipality-run Hamshahri newspaper that both she and her husband were supporting Basij volunteer militia patrols and checkpoints to “maintain the security of Tehran and its people” when they were killed on March 11.

According to Monfared, her husband had mentioned that the checkpoint had only four personnel. He had taken Alireza with him, believing the boy should be “ready for the days ahead.” Alireza reportedly said to his mother: “Mum, either we win this war or we become martyrs. God willing, we will win, but I would like to become a martyr.”

A week prior, an IRGC official in Tehran informed the IRGC-linked Fars News Agency that the organization planned to enlist volunteers aged 12 and older. The Basij, a volunteer militia under IRGC control with an estimated one million members, is often deployed to quell dissent in public spaces. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC they couldn’t confirm the strike was carried out by an Israeli drone without the coordinates of the alleged attack.

Witness Accounts and Recruitment Practices

Despite Iran’s government-imposed internet blackout, the BBC interviewed four witnesses who described seeing children under 18 at checkpoints in Tehran, Karaj, and Rasht. Golnaz, a 20-something resident of east Tehran, told the BBC she witnessed armed teenagers participating in Basij operations after an air strike on March 9. Sara, from west Tehran, recounted seeing a teenager at a checkpoint on March 25. “He was holding a gun at the cars. He and the others were stopping cars and searching