A senior official in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced a nationwide “volunteer campaign” to recruit teenagers as young as 12 to operate checkpoints across the country, as Israeli strikes increasingly target the regime’s internal security network.
Rahim Nadali, an IRGC official in Tehran, said the campaign, titled “For Iran”, was recruiting participants to join the paramilitary Basij.
Recruits would assist with "intelligence gathering” – spying on other citizens – patrols, checkpoint operations and “logistical support” for what he described as “war soldiers”.
The Basij, one of the IRGC’s five main branches, has long been used to enforce the Islamic Republic’s ideological policies and is widely associated with the suppression of anti-regime protests.
Since the outbreak of the war, dozens of checkpoints have been set up across Iran, particularly in Tehran, where security forces stop and search vehicles for suspected “espionage activity”.
These checkpoints have also become gathering points for pro-regime supporters waving state flags and chanting slogans, at times pressuring passers by to join them. In some areas, they have created heavy congestion, which some believe is intended to complicate potential air strikes.
In mid-March, Israel intensified its targeting of Basij positions in Tehran, focusing not only on senior commanders but also on checkpoints and rank and file forces. The apparent aim is to weaken the regime’s ability to control the streets and to undermine morale within one of its most feared instruments of repression.
Videos circulating online appear to show Basij members hiding beneath bridges or relocating checkpoints into tunnels in an attempt to evade detection.
Opposition groups claim that, following the strikes, fewer Basij personnel are willing to man checkpoints, raising questions about whether the new recruitment drive reflects a shortage of footsoldiers.
“Given that the age of those coming forward has dropped and they are asking to take part, we lowered the minimum age to 12,” said Nadali, the top IRGC official.
The statement stands in stark contrast to the Basij’s public image inside Iran. The force has long been involved in policing social behaviour, from enforcing mandatory hijab laws to raiding private gatherings and shutting down cultural events. In earlier decades, members detained citizens for possessing banned music tapes in their cars. More recently, human rights organisations have accused the Basij of playing a central role in violent crackdowns on protests, including nationwide demonstrations in early 2026 in which thousands were reportedly killed.
Several senior Basij figures, including top commanders and intelligence officials, have been killed in recent strikes. At the same time, Iranian citizens themselves appear to be playing an increasingly active role in identifying targets.
Israel is reportedly gathering and verifying intelligence from videos filmed by civilians and shared either directly or through international Persian language media.
For many Iranians, this has become a form of participation in a conflict they feel has long been imposed on them.
Mariam, not her real name, a resident of Tehran speaking via Starlink, described years of fear under the Basij.
“What they did to our children during the protests in January, and over many years, is horrifying,” she said. “The regime claims these forces are there to protect us, but we are all living with trauma because of them.”
She added that while she does not film checkpoints herself out of fear, she shares locations with media outlets in the hope they will be monitored.
“When the war started, they poured into the streets and began taking revenge on ordinary people, as if we were their hostages. They see us as their enemies.”
Nima, a 24 year old self-employed man inside Iran, said he uses a costly VPN to bypass internet restrictions and send footage directly to Israeli intelligence channels, mainly Mossad’s newly launched Persian Telegram Channel.
“I know it is risky, but I do not care,” he said. “These forces have been the source of our suffering for years. My entire teenage life was shaped by fear of them.
“We are a very lonely nation. It is rare for a foreign government to show interest in helping us. I do not trust the United States, as President Trump keeps changing his words but Israel has at least been consistent.”
Shayan, a 31-year-old from Tehran who has since left Iran, said he was stopped at a Basij checkpoint during an air strike as he attempted to flee with his wife.
“Instead of helping people evacuate, they held us there,” he said. “They used us as a shield.”
He added that a close friend was killed during protests earlier this year. “It may not sound right, but I am glad they are being targeted.”
The reported recruitment of children has drawn sharp criticism from child rights advocates, who say it violates international protections for minors, including United Nations conventions to which Iran is a signatory.
The Islamic Republic has previously used children in military roles, during the Iran Iraq war, when thousands of underage volunteers were sent to the front lines.
Some observers warn that if these newly recruited youths are killed in strikes, the authorities may present them as civilian underage victims, a narrative likely to attract international sympathy while obscuring their role within a paramilitary force.
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