Concern Grows Over Iran’s Controversial Campaign Encouraging Australian Youth Participation

A campaign aimed at recruiting wartime volunteers, which is being promoted by the Iranian embassy in Canberra, has caused significant concern among Iranian Australians. The initiative, which controversially allows children as young as 12 to enlist, has been described as “very dangerous” by members of the diaspora.

The embassy shared details of the campaign on Monday, raising eyebrows and sparking debate. According to information obtained by SBS News, the campaign encourages Iranians living abroad to join the regime’s ‘Janfada’—a term that means ‘sacrificing life’—initiative.

This recruitment drive, which was launched in Iran last month, is seeking volunteers to engage in the ongoing conflict that erupted following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran in February. The situation has since escalated into a broader regional conflict, although there are currently temporary and fragile ceasefires in effect.

Rana Dadpour, who speaks for the Australian United Solidarity for Iran—a group that represents the Iranian diaspora and advocates for regime change—expressed her outrage. She criticized the campaign’s promotion in Australia, calling it “very dangerous” and voiced her concerns about its potential impact.

Rana Dadpour, a spokesperson for the Australian United Solidarity for Iran which represents the diaspora and advocates for regime change in Iran, said she was “furious” what she labelled a “very dangerous” campaign was being promoted in Australia.

“The community is shocked and very angry about it. I have received several communications from different members of our community, asking me what we should do about it,” she told SBS News.

“They are basically very scared. And very concerned about it.”

‘Against our own national security’

Material linked to the campaign says it is intended to enable Iranians abroad to “declare their readiness to play an effective role in confronting” the US and Israel and “defending the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

It features the phrase “Sacrificing Life, For Iran” and notes registration is open for those aged 12 and over.

It is not the first time in recent weeks that children as young as 12 have been targeted. After a separate but similar campaign was announced in Iran last month, Human Rights Watch said there was “no excuse” for military drives involving children.

A text message sent to people in Iran when Janfada launched said it was introduced “with the threats of the American-Zionist enemy against the islands and borders of Iran” to “declare readiness to defend the country’s territory”.

It is unclear what roles volunteers would play to “defend” the country.

“It is asking people to register to fight against the United States, which is an ally [for Australia]… If anyone registers, they would be acting against our own national security in Australia,” Dadpour said.

“I don’t even know how it is allowed.

“If anyone is going to register in this kind of campaign, they are a danger to our community.”

Iranian embassies in other countries have also shared how members of the diaspora can join the campaign.

The Australian Federal Police told SBS News it was aware of the posts by Iran’s embassy in Canberra and would provide an update “at an appropriate time”.

Calls for government investigation

The Iranian embassy’s promotion of the campaign comes after its ambassador was expelled from Australia in August, after the federal government declared the Iranian regime had directed two antisemitic attacks in the country.

The embassy, however, has not been closed and continues to provide consular services.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a research fellow at Macquarie University, who was jailed for two years on espionage charges in Iran, said: “It’s alarming that the Iranian embassy in Canberra is promoting any kind of media campaign at all, given it is meant to have been reduced to a small number of junior staff tasked with processing visas.”

“The government should investigate propaganda activities coming out of the embassy and consider whether a further reduction in the number of diplomats allowed to operate there is warranted.”

SBS News has contacted the Iranian embassy in Canberra for comment.

At the same time the ambassador was expelled, the federal government also listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — a branch of the Iranian armed forces that plays a key role in its military operations — as a state sponsor of terrorism.

This makes it unlawful for Australian individuals or entities to engage with its members or offer any form of support to the group.

“Australians who are involved in supporting terrorism pose a threat to Australia’s peace and democracy,” an Australian government spokesperson said.

Australian law also makes it a criminal offence to travel to another country, prepare to do so, or recruit others to take part in hostile activities.

“Fighting with or supporting a terrorist organisation carries heavy penalties, including the potential for life imprisonment,” the spokesperson said.

‘Another theatre of war’

Iranian officials claim up to 30 million people have registered for the campaign.

President Masoud Pezeskian has said they “may not be needed to fight on the front lines”, but they can contribute to the “society”.

Last week, local media in Iran reported that “Janfada girls” had been involved in a pro-regime demonstration in Iran.

“The Janfada campaign to me is just another facet of the sophisticated media disinformation campaign propagated by the regime in what has become another theatre of war,” Moore-Gilbert said.

“The war online and in the information sphere, including Iran’s viral use of memes and trolling, is in part designed to generate support for Iran, behind enemy lines, including in Australia.

“In my view, all Western governments have been asleep at the wheel when it comes to state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda, and we should take active steps to shut down such campaigns on the grounds of national security.”

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