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)

People look at a tanker after it fell into a caved-in area on a road in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, July 27, 2013. No casualty was reported in the accident, according to local media. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

“Show Time”. It's a normal behavior of mantis. They're doing defence. When they're afraid of; raising their arms and spreading their wings. They looks like smiling dancer. Photo location: Nicosia, Cyprus. (Photo and caption by Hasan Baglar/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Two 70 thousand RMB (about 11,310 USD) robots carry dishes and offer service for customers at a robot themed restaurant at Chunxi Road in Chengdu, China, December 11, 2014. The restaurant has 10 robots to serve as waiters. Each robot can carry simple dishes and offer simple greetings. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

Australia's Rhiannon Clarke reacts in the rain after the women's T38 400-meters final at Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Saturday, September 4, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

A goat hops from student to student during a goat yoga class at the University of Tennessee on August 25, 2022 as part of welcome back week. The session was organised by Goat Yoga Nashville. (Photo by Matt Hamilton/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP Photo)

A reveller daubed in “Gulal” or coloured powder celebrates Holi, the Hindu spring festival of colours in Bhopal on March 6, 2023. (Photo by Gagan Nayar/AFP Photo)

Burlesque performer Tallulah Talons dances in the “Pandemic Burlesque” show presented by Tallulah Talons at Club Cumming on March 18, 2021 in New York City. Like many other New York City nightlife venues, the club was shuttered in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it continued to host cabaret and comedy shows via live stream for most of the year. The venue reintroduced on-site outdoor events in late December 2020. (Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP Photo)