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Basij

A huge Iranian flag adorns a building as Iranians walk past damaged structures following an earlier military strike in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on March 15, 2026. (Atta KENARE / AFP) /
May 24, 2026, 7:31 pm
As US moves to end war, Iranians tell ToI they fear regime clampdown just starting
Speaking via diaspora activists, five anti-government residents describe country ‘crushed’ by intensified repression and inflation, and ask the US and Israel to ‘finish regime off’
By Nava Freiberg
A screenshot of a video purporting to show an Iranian child recruit to the IRGC's Basij militia wearing a military uniform and carrying a rifle, seen in Shariati Square, Mashhad, Iran, March 30, 2026. (Telegram / used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
April 3, 2026, 6:25 pm
‘War crime’: Amnesty slams Iran’s recruitment of children as young as 12 to Basij militia
Rights group cites eyewitnesses, videos as proof the IRGC has enlisted kids to man checkpoints, says deployment of child soldiers violates UN convention to which Tehran is a party
By Ethan Rubinson and AP
Iranian security forces stand guard on top of an armored vehicle during the funeral ceremony of Iran's Revolutionary Guards spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes, in Tehran on March 21, 2026. (AFP)
March 27, 2026, 10:55 am
Iran recruiting children as young as 12 to man Tehran checkpoints
Residents say armed, untrained youths searching cars at ad hoc checkpoints in Tehran, dispatched to scenes of missile blasts, part of regime’s new recruitment push
By AFP
A poster of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the successor to his late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supreme leader is placed on an anti-riot police car as policemen stand on top of the car, during a rally to support him in Tehran, Iran, March 9, 2026 (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
March 20, 2026, 3:29 pm
Despite IDF strikes, Iran’s feared Basij security forces still patrol Tehran’s streets
Regime-loyal volunteers for highly decentralized force man dozens of checkpoints; over 100 Iranians arrested for alleged ties to enemy states, some for holding Starlink internet dishes
By Sarah El Deeb
Members of Iranian paramilitary forces (Basij) march with weapons and their national flag during a rally in Tehran, January 10, 2025. (AFP)
March 19, 2026, 1:45 am
Israel said threatening Iranian officers on the phone as part of efforts to stir unrest
Mossad agent tells senior cop he’s on a ‘blacklist,’ augurs his demise in taped call obtained by WSJ, as Israel hopes crippling of domestic security forces will help lead to uprising
By ToI Staff
Iran's Minister of Intelligence Esmaeil Khatib in Iran's parliament in the capital Tehran, on August 17, 2024 (ATTA KENARE / AFP)
March 18, 2026, 3:26 pm
Israel says Iran’s intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib killed in Tehran strike
Defense minister reveals IDF has free hand to ‘eliminate’ any senior Iranian security figures; Wall Street Journal reports Iranian security officials being hunted with drones
By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
Ali Larijani (waving) participates in a Quds Day anti-Israel march in Tehran on March 13, 2026, the last time he was seen alive in public. (X, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
March 17, 2026, 11:49 pm
Ali Larijani was hardline voice in Iran’s regime for decades, with supreme leader’s ear
A heavy-handed culture minister, then parliament speaker and top security official, the close adviser to Ali Khamenei was widely believed to be running Iran after US-Israeli attack
By Melanie Lidman, Jon Gambrell and Justin Spike
The scene of an impact from an Iran missile attack in Shoham on March 13, 2026. (Magen David Adom)
March 13, 2026, 10:00 pm
Iranian cluster bombs cause damage but no injuries at multiple sites in central Israel
Impacts cause fires in Shoham and Holon, hit empty school in Rishon Lezion; IDF: 4-5,000 Iranian soldiers and commanders killed during war, senior intelligence officials targeted overnight
By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
Rescue workers stand amid the rubble of a destroyed building in Tehran on March 12, 2026. (AFP)
March 13, 2026, 12:04 am
Israel targets Iran’s Basij members and drones, as Tehran’s missile attacks continue
IDF says it destroyed over 250 Iranian drones and dozens of launchers as US boasts of hitting 6,000 targets since start of war; UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman continue to intercept UAVs
By Emanuel Fabian and Agencies
Israelis take cover at an underground parking lot in Tel Aviv as a siren sounds warning of incoming ballistic missiles fired from Iran toward Israel, March 5, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
March 5, 2026, 8:34 pm
Iran fires eight missile salvos at Israel on war’s sixth day as IAF jets pound Tehran
UAE, Qatar, Bahrain come under more Iranian attacks; Tehran denies hitting Riyadh, blames Israel for attack on Azerbaijan; US, Israel said striking Iran’s underground missile sites
By Emanuel Fabian, Lazar Berman and Agencies
Women, one flashing a victory hand gesture, cross a street under a huge banner showing hands firmly holding Iranian national flags as a sign of patriotism, in Tehran, January 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
February 2, 2026, 11:16 am
Iran summons EU ambassadors after bloc listed IRGC as terrorist group
Iranian foreign ministry says reciprocal actions being considered; Parliamentary speaker says all EU militaries considered terrorist organizations under Iranian law
By Jon Gambrell
This frame grab from videos taken between January 9 and January 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)
January 30, 2026, 1:50 pm
‘Standing over ER workers’ heads with a gun’: Iranians describe brutal protest crackdown
Witnesses recall determination to oust Islamic Republic at height of demonstrations, which were met with state brutality that pursued protesters into hospitals
By Kareem Chehayeb and Sarah El Deeb
Iranians attend the funerals of security personnel killed in protests in Tehran on January 14, 2026. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)
January 27, 2026, 7:03 pm
Iranians say Tehran labeling those it killed as regime forces, in bid to cover up crimes
In accounts shared with ToI via activists, relatives report government efforts to paint slain protesters as Basij militia members, seemingly looking to justify atrocities amid ongoing crackdown
By Nava Freiberg
In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, January 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
January 24, 2026, 1:31 pm
Scale of Iran’s bloody crackdown comes into focus even as internet is out
Footage shows Basij forces opening fire on peaceful protesters, as state officials appear on public television to threaten anti-regime ‘terrorists’ to stay home
By Jon Gambrell
Demonstrators wave Israeli flags and pre-revolution Iran flags during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests in Holon, January 14, 2026. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)
January 22, 2026, 7:08 pm
After protests crushed, Iranian tells ToI many still hoping for US, Israel ‘savior’
Amid severe crackdown, Tehran resident whose brother was among thousands killed by regime says many in Iran see ‘strike targeting all leaders’ as their last hope
By Nava Freiberg
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