US State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report exposes Iran regime’s failure to combat trafficking and its role in exploiting children and migrants.
September 29, 2025 – The U.S. Department of State’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report once again placed Iran’s regime in Tier 3, the lowest possible ranking, citing the regime’s ongoing complicity in human trafficking and the recruitment of child soldiers. The report concluded that the Iranian government “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.”
While authorities made minor gestures, such as participating in a regional anti-trafficking conference, the report found no meaningful law enforcement or victim protection efforts. Instead, it documented widespread impunity for officials involved in sex and labor trafficking and highlighted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) continued role in recruiting children for militias in Syria and Yemen.
Government Complicity and Failure to Act
The report noted that Iranian officials not only failed to prosecute traffickers but were often complicit in trafficking crimes themselves. No investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of traffickers or complicit officials were reported. Media accounts alleged that state security forces, religious clerics, and IRGC units condoned or facilitated sex trafficking across the country, including in major cities such as Tehran, Mashhad, and Qom.
The IRGC and its affiliates were specifically cited for coercing Afghan migrants, including children, into fighting in the Fatemiyoun Brigade in Syria and supporting Houthi militias in Yemen. The government was also complicit in the forcible recruitment of Afghan children and the use of minors to assemble attack drones.
Lack of Protection for Victims
The report concluded that Iran’s regime has not reported any victim protection measures for at least eight years. Authorities failed to identify trafficking victims and often punished them instead for acts committed as a result of being trafficked, such as prostitution or immigration violations. Female victims risked prosecution for adultery—an offense punishable by death under Iranian law.
Afghan migrants remained particularly vulnerable. More than 750,000 Afghans were deported in 2024 without screening for trafficking indicators. Many of those detained, including children, were subjected to abuse, deprivation, and lack of medical care while in custody.
Although Iran’s regime maintains a limited number of shelters for women and children, these facilities were not specifically designated for trafficking victims and have been marred by reports of abuse. The government offered no legal alternatives for victims facing deportation to dangerous conditions in their home countries.
Endemic Exploitation and Organized Crime
The report emphasized that trafficking affects communities across Iran. Children, some as young as five, were forced into begging, waste collection, domestic servitude, and hazardous labor in construction, agriculture, and carpet weaving. Criminal gangs exploited undocumented Afghan and Iranian children in forced labor and sexual exploitation, often using physical abuse and drug addiction to maintain control.
Commercial sexual exploitation remains widespread, facilitated by the regime’s endorsement of so-called “temporary marriages” or sigheh, which can last from one hour to one week. These arrangements, often conducted in “chastity houses” or private residences, were described as a state-condoned system of sexual trafficking involving Iranian and foreign women and children.
Recommendations
The U.S. State Department issued a series of prioritized recommendations for Iran’s regime, including:
- Ceasing the recruitment and use of child soldiers by the IRGC, Basij, and affiliated militias.
- Ending official complicity in trafficking crimes and holding perpetrators accountable.
- Amending Iran’s 2004 anti-trafficking law to align with international standards.
- Ensuring victims are not punished for unlawful acts committed under coercion.
- Establishing victim identification and referral systems, with proper shelters and services.
- Allowing NGOs and international organizations to operate freely to assist trafficking victims.
- Acceding to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.
International Context
The report underscored that Iran regime’s practices are not isolated but tied to regional destabilization efforts. By supporting armed groups like the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Syria, the Iranian government has entrenched child soldier recruitment as part of its broader military strategy.
The findings highlight a persistent pattern: rather than combating trafficking, Iranian regime authorities exploit vulnerable populations, criminalize victims, and use trafficking as a tool of domestic control and foreign influence.
