Children under the age of 15 will soon be offered training to join the Islamic Republic’s Janfada (self-sacrifice) campaign, the campaign’s spokesperson, Sasan Zare, confirmed to the Iranian Labour News Agency last week.
Acknowledging that individuals as young as 15 have already begun training, Zare said that, due to high demand, “special training appropriate for younger ages will also be arranged.”
Zare, however, asserted that only male children would be provided with training, while women would need to enlist after reaching the age of 18.
The planned recruitment of children comes despite international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, prohibiting the recruitment of minors under the age of 15 by both state armed forces and non-state armed groups. The Islamic Republic has nevertheless admitted to recruiting children as young as 12.
In March, Rahim Nadali, the cultural and artistic deputy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s Mohammad Rasoulollah Corps, told Iran’s Defa Press Agency that the minimum age for joining the homeland defense fighters was set at 12. Days after Nadali’s announcement, 11-year-old Alireza Jafari was killed at a military checkpoint, according to Iranian state media. The Basij Teachers Organization confirmed that the minor was killed “on duty.”
The Jerusalem Post has contacted the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict for comment on the planned recruitment of minors for the Janfada Campaign.
Military training set to begin this week in Tehran
Military training for the campaign is set to begin in Tehran this week. Training exercises will be carried out at military centers and in “high-traffic squares,” Zare said, admitting that the major public Imam Hussein Square would be converted into a “fully equipped military training pseudo-camp.”
Those who sign up will be trained in “ensuring local security, general war preparations, observation, surveillance, and intelligence measures,” as well as “guiding micro-aircraft (drones), which are used in military operations,” and “the possibility of using shoulder-launched weapons.”
“The training platform is the Basij community, and the content is approved by the Basij organization, and the training capacity of all armed forces will be used,” he said. “There is also full preparation to ensure the security of the training sites.”
Zare further alleged that of the 31 million Iranians he said had enlisted in the campaign, 26% had signed up for military and security duties.
Zare: campaign centered on slogan: 'We have one life, and we give it for Iran'
He said the campaign was centered on the cultural slogan, “We have one life, and we give it for Iran,” which he acknowledged had drawn international criticism.
Zare also alleged that many Iranians living abroad had signed up for the campaign and would soon be included in “cultural and educational events.”