Iran using children in security roles in war, reports and witnesses say

Iran using children in security roles in war, reports and witnesses say 9 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Ghoncheh Habibiazad BBC News Persian Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters A member of Iranian volunteer militia (Basij) attends a march in Tehran in January 2025, before the current war The death of an 11-year-old Iranian boy reportedly in an air strike while manning a security checkpoint alongside his father in Tehran has thrown focus on a new initiative to recruit children into the security services. Alireza Jafari's mother Sadaf Monfared told the municipality-run newspaper Hamshahri that the pair had been helping Basij volunteer militia patrols and checkpoints to "maintain the security of Tehran and its people" when they were killed on 11 March. Last week, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official in Tehran told the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency that the organisation would enrol "volunteers" aged 12 and above. Eyewitnesses have told the BBC they have seen children, including some armed, in security roles in the capital and other cities. Foreign-based human rights organisations have also reported Alireza's death. The Kurdish group Hengaw said he was a "fifth-grade student" who was killed while present at a checkpoint in Tehran. Alireza's mother said her husband had told her there were not enough personnel at the checkpoint, with "only four people" present. …