‘Endless fears’: Even if fighting stops, the damage to Iran’s children will endure
‘Endless fears’: Even if fighting stops, the damage to Iran’s children will endure
The Psychological Toll on Youth
Ali, a 15-year-old whose name has been withheld, knows how fear from US and Israeli airstrikes lingers in the mind, unrelenting even after the ceasefire. Once at ease, he now flinches at sudden noises, his body betraying a reflexive reaction to the echoes of explosions and the hum of fighter jets. “Before the war, I had no stress at all,” he recalls. “But now, even the smallest sound triggers a severe response in my brain.”
“The sound of explosions, the shock waves, and the sound of fighter jets flying over the city can have a very serious effect,” he says.
Children like Ali are not alone in their struggle. Over 20% of Iran’s population—around 20.4 million young people—is under the age of 14. Psychologists describe their condition as “hyper arousal,” a state that may signal the early stages of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their world has narrowed, with schools shuttered and streets patrolled by regime militias. Families are confined to homes, waiting for the ceasefire to last.
A Nation in Crisis
Ali observes his parents’ anxiety, their once-stable routines disrupted by war. His father is unemployed, his mother perpetually tense. “My mother stays at home, and whenever fighter jets fly overhead, she becomes frightened and stressed,” he explains. “I am very afraid too. I have no contact with my friends… I should be able to study, work, and become an independent person in the future. Instead, I live with endless fears.”
The BBC, relying on trusted local sources, has gathered accounts from parents and caregivers navigating the trauma of conflict. At a Tehran-based human rights center, Aysha—using a pseudonym—counsels a distressed mother on the phone. “Try to do the things I mentioned to you to create a calmer environment for him,” she advises. “If possible, play with him and keep him engaged. And if even then things don’t improve, bring him back to the center.”
Government’s Call to Arms
Iran’s regime has actively mobilized children, urging parents to send them to checkpoints. A televised speech by a regime official urged families to “take your children by the hand and come out to the street.” He framed the conflict as a test of manhood for boys, claiming that “mothers, fathers, send your children at night to the roadblocks. These children will turn into men.”
Under Iran’s security laws, children under 15 can be enlisted in the Basij volunteer militia, a state enforcement force. This practice violates international humanitarian law, according to Amnesty International, which condemns the recruitment as a “grave violation” of children’s rights. For one family, the call to arms proved fatal. Alireza Jafari, an 11-year-old, was killed by a drone strike while accompanying his father on duty in Tehran on 29 March. His mother, Sadaf Monfared, recounted that the boy had said, “I would like to become a martyr.”
A Tragic Loss: Alireza’s Story
The toll of war extends beyond casualties. HRANA, a US-based human rights agency, reports that 3,636 people have died in the conflict, including at least 254 children. Tens of thousands have been injured, and the psychological scars run deep. “When you struggle so much to raise a child, only for that child to be killed—whether in protests or in war like this—I believe no parent would be willing to bring a child into the world,” says Aysha, highlighting the emotional devastation.
