Security

Desperate Iranian regime actively using children to offset manpower shortages

Facing severe personnel shortages, the Islamic Republic regime is arming and deploying children to spy on citizens and man checkpoints.

Iranian schoolboys wearing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military uniforms react as they walk at an underground station during a rally in downtown Tehran, Iran, on April 29, 2026. [Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via AFP]
Iranian schoolboys wearing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military uniforms react as they walk at an underground station during a rally in downtown Tehran, Iran, on April 29, 2026. [Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via AFP]

By Pishtaz |

The Islamic Republic regime relies on a truly desperate operational tactic to maintain domestic control.

Officials are exploiting children to sustain the daily operations of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij.

This systematic weaponization of youth places innocent minors in severe physical danger on crowded city streets.

Observers and rights groups have documented instances where minors were killed while executing security duties at active checkpoints.

This chilling reality exposes a government willing to sacrifice vulnerable citizens to enforce strict public compliance.

It is a profound violation of fundamental human rights that demands immediate and urgent attention.

Arming kids

Analysts suggest this reliance on children for active urban checkpoints reveals severe adult personnel shortages.

It points to the internal unpopularity of the Islamic Republic regime among the general populace.

Activists report that aggressive recruitment drives heavily targeted impoverished urban areas and local educational facilities.

The government uses intense state propaganda to pressure young people into volunteering for dangerous military service.

These vulnerable recruits are exposed to physical and psychological trauma with severe and lasting consequences.

State officials now openly admit to these highly exploitative and dangerous internal operational practices today.

Rahim Nadali, an official from the IRGC 27th Mohammad Rasulullah Division, spoke recently on state television.

He claimed kids want to stand up against the "global bully," referring to the US, Agence France Presse reported.

Defending these controversial actions, Nadali stated his ongoing observations to the public television viewing audience.

"For the Basij checkpoints that you see across cities now, we have had many young people and teenagers demanding to be present in them."

Other sources indicate that the IRGC and the Basij distribute armed children aged between 10 and 17 into specialized groups.

Many young members wear plain civilian clothes to blend seamlessly into everyday busy public crowds.

They remain constantly present in busy local markets, crowded public gatherings and quiet neighborhood alleyways.

Their primary mission involves rigorous domestic intelligence gathering and maintaining strict local population security control.

They spy on Iranians, monitor communities and arrest citizens on charges of espionage or collaboration with the US and Israel.

This dangerous state exploitation extends far beyond the established domestic borders of the Islamic Republic.

Recent international reporting reveals the IRGC has made external efforts to hire minors for targeting overseas.

By transforming children into tools of state terror, the Islamic Republic regime demonstrates sheer operational desperation.

This systematic abuse and endangerment of youth demand immediate condemnation from the global community.

Do you like this article?


Comment Policy