Conscription in Iran

Conscription
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1780 caricature of a press gang
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Iranian soldiers at the funeral of their comrade who was killed at the age of 18 during a conflict with smugglers

All young men who reach the age of 18 must spend about two years of compulsory military service in the Iranian army or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[1] Often, the General staff of the armed forces of Iran chooses where people will serve, and a person cannot choose where to serve.[1] The length of conscription is between 18 months to 2 years.[1][2]

Before the 1979 revolution, women were also forced to serve in the military.[3] However, after the establishment of the Islamic Republic, some Ayatollahs considered women's military service to be disrespectful to women by the Pahlavi government and banned women's military service in Iran.[4] Therefore, Iranian women and girls were completely exempted from military service, which caused Iranian men and boys to oppose.[5] In 2023, the military is the process of relaxing the ban on women's military service.[6]

In Iran, men who refuse to go to military service are deprived of their citizenship rights, such as employment, health insurance,[7] continuing their education at university,[8] finding a job, going abroad, opening a bank account,[9] etc.[10] Iranian boys have so far opposed mandatory military service and demanded that military service in Iran become a job like in other countries, but the Islamic Republic is opposed to this demand.[11] Some Iranian military commanders consider the elimination of conscription or improving the condition of soldiers as a security issue and one of Ali Khamenei's powers as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces,[11][12] so they treat it with caution.[13] In Iran, usually prosperous and wealthy people are exempted from conscription.[14][15] Some other boys can be exempted from conscription due to their fathers serving in the Iran-Iraq war.[16][17]

Women's military service before the 1979 revolution. After the establishment of the Islamic Republic, women's military service was banned.[18][19][20]

This period for military service is divided into two parts; The basic training period is about 2 months in some determined garrisons, and after that, they are sent to their main destination garrison. The conscripts do not have any authority to select the branches for serving this compulsory period. When the applicants submit their applications, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran decides to assign them to different organizations based on their needs and availability. These garrisons belong to different branches consisting of the Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (IRIAF), Khatemolanbia Air Defense Headquarters; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, IRGC): Ground Resistance Forces, Navy, Aerospace Force, Quds Force (special operations). There is also, Non-military service (Civilian Service) (Persian: امریه read "Amriyeh") is a substitute for military service.

  1. ^ a b c "سربازی اجباری؛ نیروی کار ارزان در دست نظامیان". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  2. ^ "Did you know conscription length in Iran is 30 years?". Aftab (in Persian). 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Iran - Military Conscription". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  4. ^ "مباحثه خواندنی آیت‌الله صافی‌گلپایگانی و آیت‌الله خزعلی در مجلس خبرگان بر سرآموزش نظامی زنان". خبرآنلاین (in Persian). 2011-04-03. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  5. ^ "جام نیوز :: JamNews - دختران ایرانی به سربازی می روند؟". 2016-09-13. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  6. ^ "تصاویری متفاوت از زنان ارتشِ ایران". Bartarinha. 1 March 2023.
  7. ^ "مرکز پژوهشها - قانون خدمت وظیفه عمومی". 2020-02-10. Archived from the original on 2020-02-10. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  8. ^ "اخطار سازمان وظیفه عمومی: داوطلبان کنکور امسال وضعیت سربازی خود را روشن کنند". خبرآنلاین (in Persian). 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  9. ^ tebyan.net (2010-07-29). "اگر سربازی نروید ..." fa (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  10. ^ "مشمولان غایب سربازی از دریافت چه خدماتی محروم می‌شوند؟- اخبار پلیس - اخبار اجتماعی تسنیم | Tasnim". خبرگزاری تسنیم | Tasnim (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  11. ^ a b "سربازی اجباری؛ نیروی کار ارزان در دست نظامیان". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  12. ^ "سازمان سربازی ناجا - فرمايشات رهبری". 2018-03-11. Archived from the original on 2018-03-11. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  13. ^ "یک قرن با پوتین و کلاه سربازی، از 'قبله عالم' تا 'ولی امر'". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  14. ^ فردا, رادیو (2022-01-30). "بازگشت فروش خدمت سربازی در ایران؛ این بار تنها برای افراد مرفه". رادیو فردا (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  15. ^ "پولدارها دوباره سربازی نمی‌روند!". خبرآنلاین (in Persian). 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  16. ^ mizanonline.ir (2023-03-16). "شرایط دریافت معافیت جانبازی برای مشمولان". fa (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  17. ^ "معافیت با جانبازی پدر". 2019-03-16. Archived from the original on 2019-03-16. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  18. ^ "Iran - Military Conscription". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  19. ^ "جام نیوز :: JamNews - دختران ایرانی به سربازی می روند؟". 2016-09-13. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  20. ^ "مباحثه خواندنی آیت‌الله صافی‌گلپایگانی و آیت‌الله خزعلی در مجلس خبرگان بر سرآموزش نظامی زنان". خبرآنلاین (in Persian). 2011-04-03. Retrieved 2023-03-16.