With a presence in nearly every city and town across Iran, the paramilitary Basij volunteer corps has an ever-increasing influence on life in the Islamic Republic. Authorities created the Basij, which means mobilization in Persian, just after the country's 1979 Islamic Republic. It is part of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard. Photo: In this Thursday, August 22, 2013 photo, a female member of the Basij paramilitary militia aims a rifle as a trainer looks over her shoulder in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

A model poses on Aprilia motorcycle displayed at the Indian Auto Expo in Greater Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, February 4, 2016. (Photo by Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters)

People look at a funnel cloud formed near the beach in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, September 21, 2020. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

Lovot companion robots by Groove X wander in front their booth at CES Unveiled during the 2020 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 5, 2020. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Reuters)

Over 30 Douglas C-47 Skytrains (Dakotas) making final preparations for flight formation practice before the 75th D-Day Anniversary flight to Normandy in Duxford, England on June 4, 2019. (Photo by UK Air Force Images)

Carrion crows sit on poles around a field on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany, early Monday, June 26, 2023. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Medical workers walk by a police robot at the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport after travel restrictions to leave Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province and China's epicentre of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, were lifted, April 8, 2020. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

Border between Sweden and Norway at Moldusen. An approximately 20-meter wide clearing in the forest separates the two Scandinavian nations, consequently cutting Finnskogen in two. Grue Finnskog 2016. (Photo by Terje Abusdal/The Washington Post)