Iran’s military and security preparations are no longer confined to the country’s regular forces. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij militia are expanding training and mobilization programs to include civilians, including women and young people, as concerns grow over the possibility of a wider confrontation with the United States.
The expansion is visible in weapons-training exercises and the deployment of volunteers at security checkpoints, signaling a growing presence of Iran’s military and security institutions in the daily lives of ordinary people.
MBN obtained photographs and video footage from the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an Iranian opposition group, showing women training with weapons and children standing at checkpoints alongside members of the IRGC and Basij, which are both designated as terrorist organizations by the United States.
In one video, a woman practices using a Kalashnikov rifle, including disassembling and reassembling it. In other scenes, children appear at security checkpoints alongside personnel affiliated with the IRGC and Basij.
The material does not establish whether the participants are being prepared for combat. But it does show civilians taking part in a wider range of military training and security-related activities amid tensions involving Israel and the United States.
MBN could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos and photos.
Iran’s New Defenders
Iran’s authorities have for years relied on the IRGC and Basij for internal security and mobilization. The scenes suggest that role is extending to broader segments of society.
In March, Iranian authorities announced a volunteer campaign called “Defenders of the Homeland for Iran” and opened registration to people aged 12 and older, according to official statements and material reviewed by MBN.
Amnesty International said it had verified 16 photographs and videos published since March 21 showing children carrying Kalashnikov rifles or standing alongside IRGC personnel at checkpoints, on patrols and at military gatherings in Tehran, Mashhad and Kermanshah.
According to the organization, some children took part in patrols, checkpoint duties and logistical activities. Amnesty warned that involving children under 15 in military activities could violate international law.
The nature of the children’s participation, however, is not always clear. Hossein Raeesi, an Iranian human rights lawyer now based in Canada who has defended children in Iranian courts, told MBN that the activities did not amount to a formal system for recruiting minors but said children were nevertheless closely connected to activities associated with the military establishment.
Raeesi said the Basij maintains an organized presence in schools, where students and minors take part in training and activities presented as “defense preparedness.” He said the activities are intended in part to encourage some students to eventually join the Basij or IRGC, while also strengthening the institutions’ presence in society.
Women’s participation appears in a different form. In videos obtained by MBN, women and girls can be seen training in the use of firearms, from how to hold a weapon to how to disassemble and reassemble it.
The authorities present the training as part of popular preparations to defend the country. But Raeesi said it also has a propaganda dimension, intended to portray Iranian society across different age groups as prepared for confrontation.
“Women, children, the elderly and others are all ready to fight,” he said.
The scenes do not necessarily mean that the women taking part will become combatants. They do, however, demonstrate the expansion of military training and mobilization to a broader range of civilian groups.
The involvement of children takes on a more serious dimension when viewed against incidents on the ground. In April, an 11-year-old boy was killed while accompanying his father, a Basij member, at a checkpoint in Tehran.
According to Amnesty International, authorities acknowledged the death of the child, Ali Reza Jafari, “during service” after a security position was targeted by a drone.
Raeesi said bringing children to checkpoints reflects the extent of the role played by Basij networks within families and communities. He said some families involve their children in such activities as an expression of loyalty or because of their ties to the institutions. But he warned that children present at security sites could be directly exposed to attacks targeting those locations.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
