Iranian army intensifies recruitment of children: campaign lowers minimum age to 12 years old

Human Rights Watch (Beirut) – The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (pasdaran) is currently conducting a recruitment campaign for children as young as 12 years old as “fighters for homeland defense,” said Human Rights Watch. Recruiting and using children for military purposes is a serious violation of children’s rights and a war crime when children are under 15 years old.

On March 26, 2026, an official from the 27th division, Mohammad Rasulullah, of the pasdarans in Tehran indicated that a recruitment campaign titled “Fighters for Homeland Defense in Iran” had set the minimum age at 12. In a context marked by thousands of attacks by the United States and Israel throughout the country, children present in military facilities are at a high risk of death and injury.

Iranian authorities should end this campaign and prohibit all military and paramilitary forces in the country from recruiting children.

“There is no justification for a military recruitment campaign targeting children, let alone children as young as 12,” said Bill Van Esveld, associate director of children’s rights at Human Rights Watch. “In reality, this means that Iranian authorities are willing to endanger children’s lives to obtain more manpower.”

Varied roles but exposed to danger

According to Rahim Nadali, a pasdaran official, the campaign aims to recruit civilians for logistical services (cooking, distribution, medical assistance), managing damaged homes, and also for security activities like checkpoint control, operational patrols, intelligence missions, and convoy escorts.

A promotional poster published by an Iranian news agency shows two children alongside adults, one in a military uniform.

In a televised interview, Nadali explained that many young people themselves requested to participate in patrols and missions. Given their age, the minimum age was set at 12.

Registrations can be made at mosques in Tehran that house bases of the Basij, a paramilitary force under the control of the IRGC.

Children directly exposed to airstrikes

Over the past month, the United States and Israel have reportedly carried out thousands of airstrikes targeting Basij and pasdaran installations, as well as checkpoints in Tehran. These attacks have already caused casualties, including among children.

Human Rights Watch documented an attack on a primary school in Minab (February 28), resulting in dozens of deaths among students and civilians. According to a preliminary U.S. military report, the United States may be responsible for this strike.

An ongoing issue in Iran

The recruitment of children for military activities is not a new practice in Iran. Iran has previously recruited minors into the Basij. Afghan children living in Iran have been sent to fight in Syria, and during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, hundreds of thousands of children were mobilized, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths.

Even today, Iranian legislation allows for some early commitments: 15 years for possible participation as “active members,” 16 years for military training, and 17 years for entry into the police.

International legal framework

The Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits the recruitment of children under 15 years old. International law considers this recruitment a war crime. The additional protocol sets 18 as the minimum age for direct participation in combat (not ratified by Iran but recognized as an international standard).

The United Nations emphasizes that regardless of their role, children associated with conflicts are exposed to extreme levels of violence.

Conclusion

This campaign marks a worrying escalation: direct integration of children into security structures, exposure to conflict zones, and the normalization of military roles for minors.

For Human Rights Watch, the responsibility is clear: Iranian authorities are putting children at serious risk and exposing themselves to prosecution for violations of international law.