A month after the start of the war with the United States, Iranian security forces have begun recruiting children as young as 12 to man checkpoints and perform other duties in the capital, Tehran, an Iranian military official said.
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Checkpoints have appeared all over Tehran since the war began, and residents report plainclothes teenagers armed with machine guns manning some of them.
Authorities in Tehran have launched a recruitment campaign called “For Iran” to register people to join the security forces, lowering the minimum age for recruits to 12.
Rahim Nadali, an official with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Tehran, told state television that people as young as 12 can register to help the IRGC and the Basij youth volunteer militia confront the “global bully” — a term used for the United States, the website alarabiya.net reported.
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According to Nadali, the tasks include “security data collection and operational patrols,” as well as organizing caravans of cars at night around the city.
“At the checkpoints and Basij patrols that you see all over the cities, we had a very large number of volunteers among the youth and teenagers who wanted to participate,” he said. “Taking into account the wishes of those who want to join, we have now lowered the minimum age to 12, because children aged 12-13 want to participate.”
A Tehran resident told AFP reporters outside the country that they had seen armed youth all over the city since the start of the war with the United States and Israel.
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When a rocket hits somewhere, the area is immediately blocked off. Untrained teenagers with Kalashnikovs shout orders to people: “Stand here, stand there” — and regularly fire warning shots into the air, he said.
Meanwhile, Trump is sending additional troops to the Middle East and dreams of renaming the Strait of Hormuz after himself or America.