Iran Recruiting Young Citizens to Fill Hezbollah's Ranks

Iran has begun recruiting local young men to replace Hezbollah’s depleted manpower, according to a report published Wednesday evening in Israel’s main newscast and based on intelligence assessments. Recruitment notices posted across Tehran reveal both the extent of Hezbollah’s losses in the war with the IDF and Iran’s determination not to let what it sees as a strategic asset weaken.

The ads reportedly offer a monthly salary of $1,000, far above Iran’s minimum wage of about $140. They are aimed mainly at Basij activists, ideological volunteers, and young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Candidates must show physical fitness, strong religious commitment, courage, discipline, responsibility, leadership ability, and teamwork skills.

After enlistment, the recruits are expected to receive initial training at Revolutionary Guards and Quds Force facilities in Iran, followed by additional training in Syria and Lebanon. Their eventual role would be inside Hezbollah’s combat formations, including elite units such as Radwan Force.

An intelligence source said the recruitment campaign shows how severe Hezbollah’s manpower crisis has become after heavy fighting, command losses, and the killing of commanders and operatives. “When recruitment notices are hung in the streets of Tehran to fill the ranks in Lebanon, it shows how deep Hezbollah’s manpower crisis is,” the source said. “Iran is determined not to let its strategic asset weaken.” Israeli assessments say Iranian fighters may be embedded in Hezbollah within months, although none have been transferred to Lebanon yet.