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Iran is ramping up the recruitment of children as young as the age of 12 into military-linked roles tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to new reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

The reports underscore mounting pressure inside Iran’s war effort. As U.S. and Israeli strikes intensify, rights groups and analysts say recruiting children points to manpower shortages and a growing reliance on paramilitary forces to hold the home front. It also escalates the human cost of the conflict, placing minors in direct danger while exposing Iran to potential war crimes liability. 

Human Rights Watch said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched a campaign called "Homeland Defending Combatants for Iran," lowering the minimum recruitment age to 12 and encouraging minors to sign up in mosques and through Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

The roles go beyond support tasks and include "operational patrols," staffing checkpoints and intelligence activities, putting children directly in harm’s way as fighting intensifies across the country.

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Amnesty International said the recruitment and deployment of children under 15 "constitutes a war crime," and backed its findings with verified visual evidence and eyewitness accounts.

The organization analyzed 16 photos and videos published since Saturday, showing children carrying weapons, including AK-pattern rifles, and deployed alongside Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij forces at checkpoints, on patrols and during state-organized rallies in Iranian cities including Tehran, Mashhad and Kermanshah.

Amnesty also documented the fatal consequences. On Sunday, 11-year-old Alireza Jafari was killed at a checkpoint in Iran while accompanying his father, a Basij member, the group said. Authorities said he was killed "while serving" following an Israeli drone strike.

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According to Amnesty, the boy’s mother told the Iranian newspaper Hamshahri that her husband had reported a shortage of personnel at checkpoints and took their two sons with him. She said he told their son he "must get prepared for the days ahead," adding that children as young as 15 and 16 are commonly involved in checkpoint duties.

Eyewitness accounts reviewed by Amnesty describe children visibly struggling to handle weapons. One person in Tehran wrote: "I saw a child at a checkpoint near our house … I think he was about 15… It seemed like he was struggling to breathe from the effort of lifting the gun."

Another witness in Karaj, Iran, reported seeing a child "holding a Kalashnikov rifle," while a third in Rasht said some appeared to be "13 years old at most," warning they could "fire randomly."

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In one video cited by Amnesty, filmed March 30 in Mashhad, Iran, two children wearing Basij uniforms and balaclavas were seen carrying assault rifles while positioned on a moving vehicle during a state-organized rally, elevated above a cheering crowd.

The recruitment campaign itself has been promoted through official channels, including posters depicting children alongside armed adults under the slogan "Basij with people, for people," accompanied by a quote attributed to Iran’s Supreme Leader calling for Basij forces to remain central to the revolution.

Iranian officials have defended the policy by pointing to what they describe as strong demand among teenagers.

In a televised interview with Iranian state media, IRGC official Rahim Nadali said the minimum age was set at 12 because "teenagers and the youth repeatedly have come and said that they want to take part." 

"There is no excuse for a military recruitment drive that targets children to sign up, much less 12-year-olds," Human Rights Watch’s Bill Van Esveld said.

The reports come as the United Nations classifies the recruitment of children in armed conflict as a "grave violation," with international law prohibiting the enlistment of children under 15 and setting 18 as the standard for participation in hostilities.

Both organizations called on Iranian authorities to immediately halt the recruitment of minors and release those already serving. 

Iran's mission to the United Nations declined Fox News Digital's comment request. 

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An ABC affiliate in Alabama apologized on Monday after an anchor signed off from the station’s evening newscast by quoting the founder of an Islamic fundamentalist group that has been linked to terrorism and threats against America. 

Birmingham’s WBMA ABC 33/40 News anchor Ashonti Ford ended an evening newscast last week with a quote she attributed to Hassan al-Banna, who is credited with founding the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928.

"Before we go, a quote from the founder of the Islamic Brotherhood: The quieter you become, the more you're able to hear," Ford told Alabama viewers. 

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The Trump administration has designated certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as foreign terrorist organizations. Aross parts of the Arab world, the Islamist organization has been banned or restricted for years. 

Egypt outlawed the movement in 2013, accusing it of inciting unrest and undermining state institutions. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates later designated it a terrorist organization, describing it as a threat to national stability, while Bahrain adopted a similar stance. 

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who was among the many online critics, called the signoff on the Alabama station "pure insanity."

"The Radical Muslim Brotherhood is a TERRORIST ORGANIZATION," Tuberville wrote. 

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After significant backlash, ABC 30/40 news director Jeff Cox addressed the incident on Monday. 

"I want to take a moment to address concerns about our broadcast last Thursday. The intent of our closing segment is always to end the newscast on a positive and thoughtful note," Cox told viewers. 

"The quote included that evening was not intended to convey any political or ideological message," he continued. "However, we understand that it was perceived that way and, on behalf of the station, I sincerely apologize to those who were offended."

Cox added that Ford "had nothing to do with the selection," and quotes used to end the newscast are selected through the station’s editorial process, not by anchors themselves. 

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"We have addressed the matter internally, and we are making adjustments to ensure our content consistently meets our editorial standards moving forward. We value your trust, appreciate your feedback, and we thank you for your loyalty," Cox said. 

WBMA is owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group.  

When reached for comment, a Sinclair spokesperson provided Fox News Digital with video of Cox’s apology. 

"ABC 33/40 is reinforcing its editorial review protocols to ensure content aligns with the station's standards," a Sinclair spokesperson added. 

"ABC 33/40 has an established editorial process for reviewing content. In this case, that process fell short, and the station has taken steps to strengthen it moving forward," they continued. "The station's on-air talent was not involved in the selection of the quote, this was an editorial matter, which has been addressed through our internal processes."

Ford was not disciplined and has remained on air. 

Fox News Digital's Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

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U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro warned of a potential increase in teenage violence, accusing D.C. Council members of fueling "criminal chaos."

Pirro joined "Fox & Friends" Wednesday to discuss the D.C. Council delaying a vote to extend teen curfews. She argued it is part of a culture of allowing young criminals to get away unscathed.

"The mentality in D.C. is that, if you're less than 18 years of age, unless you kill somebody or do something really serious, it goes to the family court, where the purpose is simply what is in the best interest of the child," Pirro said.

"There is no punishment, there is no retribution, there is no deterrence. You can go to an ice cream social or yoga," she added.

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On Tuesday, the D.C. Council delayed a vote on extending the curfews until the next legislative session on April 21. The curfews, however, are set to expire April 15.

The delay comes as officials report a rise in "teen takeovers," where large groups gather, sometimes damaging businesses and sparking violence. The Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., was the site of one of these meetups, where several minors were assaulted and robbed, according to authorities.

"These alleged social gatherings turn into criminal chaos," Pirro said. "Families are affected by it, businesses end up being shuttered, there’s violence that occurs."

The takeovers, which can include hundreds of people, have taken place across the country, including in New York City, Chicago and Florida. More than a dozen teenagers were taken into custody after a fight broke out during a "takeover" event at a mall in Glendale, Wisconsin.

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Pirro argued these incidents are encouraged by what she described as a lack of deterrence in the criminal justice system and called for stricter consequences for youth offenders.

She noted that in many cases, by the time a suspect is 18, their record already includes shootings, carjackings and robberies.

"Then all of a sudden, we’re surprised to see them committing a murder by the time I get them, because there is no deterrence," she said.

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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser expressed her disappointment in the council for allowing the "juvenile curfew zones to expire." She called on council members to reconsider their decision not to act on renewing the measure.

"We all want our young people to be able to socialize in age-appropriate ways and in environments that are safe for themselves, for their peers, and for the entire community," Bowser wrote on X.

"But as adults, we cannot abdicate our responsibility to respond to behaviors that put young people or our community at risk."

In 2025, President Donald Trump deployed hundreds of National Guard members to the nation’s capital to help reduce crime.

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Authorities have released new information involving the 30-year-old Indiana woman accused of gunning down the father of her children and his parents in an Illinois suburb earlier this month. 

Jenna Strouble is charged with nine counts of first-degree murder stemming from the deaths of 32-year-old Jacob Lambert and his parents, Patrick and Stacy Forde, in Chicago on March 22, according to FOX 32. 

According to newly released court documents, Strouble contacted Lambert on the day of the alleged murder asking him to "hang out," later admitting to investigators that she went to the meeting "with an intention" to harm him. 

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Prosecutors allege Strouble drove to Plum Creek Nature Preserve, but pulled over along Burnham Road in Sauk Village upon learning the first location was closed and offered to give Lambert a back massage, FOX 32 reported.

Strouble then straddled Lambert as he laid on his stomach and massaged his back for about 20 minutes, court documents revealed, according to the outlet.

Strouble allegedly told investigators that when Lambert criticized her technique, she retrieved a Glock handgun hidden underneath the passenger seat and held it to the back of his head for several minutes before shooting him. 

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Prosecutors said immediately following the shooting, Strouble drove to Lambert’s parents’ home in nearby Crete Township and attempted to use his keys to get inside before his father, Patrick Forde, came to the door, according to FOX 32.

As Patrick Forde opened the door, Strouble allegedly began shooting from the porch as she entered the home, ultimately striking him 17 times in the chest and abdomen. 

As Stacy Forde came downstairs, Strouble allegedly shot her three times in the chest and abdomen, FOX 32 reported. 

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Upon being asked if she came to Lambert’s parents’ home to finish her plan, Strouble allegedly told investigators, "Yeah, pretty much."

Immediately after the alleged murders, Strouble is accused of returning to her home in St. John, Indiana and calling her sister to admit to what she had done, with Strouble’s sister ultimately notifying police. 

Deputies reportedly arrived at the Fordes' home around 2 a.m. on March 23 to find Patrick Forde’s lifeless body in the dining room and Stacy Forde lying on the stairs.

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Lambert’s body was located in a nearby cul-de-sac in the passenger seat of a 2014 Ford Fusion Titanium, still face down with the seat reclined.

As officers arrived at Strouble’s St. John home to take her into custody, prosecutors said Strouble came outside and handed them a loaded Glock 19 fitted with a suppressor, with investigators locating a vehicle registered to Lambert less than a block away, FOX 32 reported.

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Court documents revealed Strouble penned a note the night before the alleged killings providing the names of three of her children and asking others to care for them, according to the outlet.

Strouble allegedly admitted to purchasing the gun in December 2025 and buying the suppressor online for roughly $589.

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Prosecutors pointed to Strouble’s complaints about Lambert’s parenting and tensions with his family as a possible motive for the alleged murders, with the pair occasionally maintaining an intimate relationship while co-parenting their two young children. 

The mother reportedly admitted to not having a relationship with her children and spending little time with them, adding that she voluntarily handed custody over to Lambert and his family and only recently had them returned to her.

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Strouble also allegedly told investigators she considered killing her own parents because she did not feel her children would be safe under their care. 

When investigators asked if she killed Lambert’s parents because she did not want them to take custody of their children, she allegedly replied, "that’s some of the reasons."

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Prosecutors pointed to an incident in which Strouble allegedly took her father’s rifle and stashed it under her bed, later telling him she thought about killing Lambert but did not have a plan, according to FOX 32.

Investigators also learned of Strouble’s past suicidal tendencies and medication for depression, including one incident in which she wanted to kill herself by jumping out of a window with her children, the outlet reported.

Strouble is set to appear in court Tuesday, where a judge will make a determination to keep her in custody until her trial. 

If convicted, Strouble could face life in prison. 

Fox News Digital was unable to immediately locate an attorney assigned to represent Strouble. 

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