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 South Sudanese People Liberation Army (SPLA) soldier patrols the streets in Malakal on January 21, 2014. (Photo by Harrison Ngethi/AFP Photo)

Krystian Herba, a Polish extreme cyclist jumps up the steps of Eureka Tower on a bicycle as he breaks a Guinness World Record at Eureka Tower on February 4, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. Herba jumped up 2,919 steps on his bicycle in 1 hour 45 minutes without supporting himself with his hands or feet to break his own Guinness World Record. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

The Euro sculpture is partially reflected in a puddle on a cobblestone pavement in front of the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt on Jan. 21. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge speaks to soldiers as she arrives at Calgary Airport on July 7, 2011 in Calgary, Canada. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Father Christmas waiting for a bus in the London West End with his reindeer and a sack of presents. (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images). 12th August 1970

King George V inspects the day's kill after a tiger hunt in India during his royal visit to celebrate his accession to the throne. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1911

(L-R) Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, J K Rowling and Rupert Grint attend the World Premiere of “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1” held at The Odeon Leicester Square on November 11, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)