Iran enlisting youths to staff security posts in Tehran

Iran's security forces have begun enlisting children as young as 12 to staff checkpoints and undertake various tasks amidst the conflict in the capital, according to a Revolutionary Guards official who spoke to state TV on Thursday.

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This development comes as checkpoints have proliferated throughout Tehran since the onset of the war, with residents noting the presence of teenagers in plainclothes manning some of these checkpoints, armed with machine guns.

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A recruitment campaign dubbed "For Iran" has been launched in Tehran by Iranian authorities, aiming to register individuals to join the security forces, with the minimum recruitment age now set at 12.

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Rahim Nadali, a Tehran-based official with the Guards, stated on state television that 12-year-olds can register to support the Guards and the Basij youth volunteer militia in their efforts "against the global bully", a term used to refer to the United States.

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Tasks assigned to these young recruits include gathering security data, conducting operational patrols, and organizing nighttime caravans in the city, as outlined by Nadali.

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Nadali noted that "at the Basij checkpoints and patrols that you see across the cities, we had a very high number of volunteers among young people and teenagers who wanted to participate", which led to the decision to lower the minimum recruitment age to 12.

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He further explained that "considering the ages of those requesting to join, we have now lowered the minimum age to 12 years old, because children aged 12–13 want to be involved".

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Tehran residents have shared with AFP journalists, from outside the country, accounts of encountering armed youths throughout the city since the war began with the United States and Israel.

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Resident Kaveh described the scene, saying "military pickup trucks with heavy weapons mounted on them block the roads and search cars, and just 100 meters ahead, there are several private cars with teenagers holding Uzis, again stopping vehicles".

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Kaveh also noted that "when a missile hits somewhere, the area is immediately sealed off, and untrained teenagers with Kalashnikovs shout orders at people — ‘stand here, stand there' — and regularly fire warning shots into the air".

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Another Tehran resident reported that at night, supporters of the Islamic republic "take cars fitted with speakerphones, give them flags, and they march with lots of noise, shouting slogans in the streets".