"With the approval of the Supreme Leader and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, all absent and non-absent conscripts and active duty personnel who have at least four children, and all absent and non-absent conscripts and active duty personnel who are at least 40 years of age and have three children are exempt from compulsory military service,” the general staff’s human resources said in a statement on Sunday.
An exemption card will be issued for eligible conscripts after they have completed basic and complementary training courses at Iran’s voluntary Basij force, the statement added.
Observers say the new exemption rules are in line with the Iranian government’s policy of boosting the nation’s declining birthrate.
Iran’s Constitution requires all men aged between 18 and 49 to report for military service for a period of up to two years. The law grants exemptions based on an individual’s age or medical conditions, among other factors. The exemptions, however, are mostly only valid in peacetime and those exempted would be called up for duty in case of a wartime mobilization.
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