The death of an 11-year-old Iranian boy reportedly in an air strike while manning a security checkpoint alongside his father in Tehran has thrown focus on a new initiative to recruit children into the security services.
Alireza Jafari's mother Sadaf Monfared told the municipality-run newspaper Hamshahri that the pair had been helping Basij volunteer militia patrols and checkpoints to maintain the security of Tehran and its people when they were killed on 11 March.
Last week, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official in Tehran told the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency that the organisation would enrol volunteers aged 12 and above.
Eyewitnesses have told the BBC they have seen children, including some armed, in security roles in the capital and other cities.
Foreign-based human rights organisations have also reported Alireza's death. The Kurdish group Hengaw said he was a fifth-grade student who was killed while present at a checkpoint in Tehran.
Alireza's mother said her husband had told her there were not enough personnel at the checkpoint, with only four people present. She said he took Alireza with him and said that the boy needed to be ready for the days ahead.
She quoted her son as saying: Mum, either we win this war or we become martyrs. God willing, we will win, but I would like to become a martyr.
Hamshahri newspaper reported that they were hit by an Israeli drone strike. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC they were unable to verify this unless provided with the coordinates of the alleged strike.
Rahim Nadali, of the IRGC's Greater Tehran Muhammad Rasulollah Corps, stated that the new programme, known as Homeland Defender Fighters for Iran, would place children in various roles, including patrols and at checkpoints.
Despite a government-imposed internet outage in Iran, the BBC has spoken to four eyewitnesses who confirmed seeing children at security checkpoints in Tehran, Karaj, and Rasht.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the practice as a grave violation of children's rights and a war crime when targeting children under 15. Experts emphasize the risks of untrained minors in armed roles, which could lead to unintended violence against civilians.
The use of children in military contexts underscores the Iranian government's desperation amidst growing hostility and dwindling adult enlistment to security forces.
