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)

Jared Leto poses with fans for a selfie during the “Clear Channel Media and Entertainment” at the 2014 Cannes Lions on June 18, 2014 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Didier Baverel/WireImage)

Alee Harrison, 13, wears the tv series “Doctor Who” on her legs as she works on a painting for Operation Blue Pride. (Photo by Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post)

A handler displays newly born American green Iguanas at the Snake park in Chennai on May 27, 2024. (Photo by R.Satish Babu/AFP Photo)

An employee of the National Park Service takes a selfie with President Barack Obama, left, in the background meeting with the crowd after a tour of Everglades National Park on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Florida. Obama used the visit to warn of the damage that climate change is already inflicting on the nation's environmental treasures. (Photo by Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)

A Palestinian woman takes a picture of a member of the Israeli security forces as he takes her picture in a street in Jerusalem on December 16, 2017, as demonstrations continue to flare in the Middle East and elsewhere over the US president' s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel' s capital. (Photo by Ahmad Gharabli/AFP Photo)

Polish police in riot gear detain protesters, angry over new restrictions aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic, in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, October 24, 2020. The protesters included entrepreneurs, far-right politicians, football fans and vaccine opponents. The clashes come amid rising social tensions and as new restrictions just short of a full lockdown took effect Saturday. (Photo by Czarek Sokolowski/AP Photo)