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Amnesty International Call Iran's Child Recruitment a War Crime
Amnesty says the IRGC is assigning minors to checkpoints and patrols, with verified photos and videos showing children armed in several Iranian cities.
- On March 26, 2026, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a recruitment drive called 'For Iran,' lowering the minimum volunteer age to 12. Cultural official Rahim Nadali stated the program directs recruits to Basij mosques for patrols and checkpoint duties.
- Personnel shortages at checkpoints prompted this shift, echoing the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War when authorities sent over 550,000 children to support roles. The current recruitment reflects a recurring Iranian strategy.
- Evidence of lethal risks emerged on March 11, 2026, when 11-year-old Alireza Jafari was killed at a Tehran checkpoint. His mother told the Hamshahri newspaper a 'shortage of personnel' led her husband to take their son to assist Basij patrols.
- Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned the initiative as a war crime. Bill Van Esveld, HRW associate children's rights director, said 'there is no excuse for a military recruitment drive that targets children to sign up, much less 12-year-olds.'
- Deploying untrained minors in security roles risks escalating violence and endangering civilians. Pegah Banihashemi, University of Chicago Law School expert in constitutional law and human rights, stated recruitment 'introduces broader risks to society' due to limited command structures.
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President Donald Trump has sent to the Orient about 17,000 soldiers from marine and air-striking troops, who could launch a terrorist operation to capture Iranian islands, the country's main oil complex or uranium reserves. Iran, according to military experts' estimates, can mobilize up to one million soldiers from active and reserve. In addition, authorities have launched a massive campaign of recruitment of volunteers, including children.
·Romania
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DECRYPTAGE - The Iranian authorities have announced the launch of an official plan to recruit children of "twelve years of age and over" to join the ranks of volunteer fighters, a phenomenon far from new in the Islamic Republic.
·Paris, France
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources83
Leaning Left10Leaning Right30Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution60% Right
Bias Distribution
- 60% of the sources lean Right
60% Right
L 20%
C 20%
R 60%
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