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)

Space shuttle Atlantis (R) remains docked to the International Space Station photographed by NASA astronaut Ronald Garan during a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk July 12, 2011 in space. Space shuttle Atlantis has embarked on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station where it will deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts. This was the final mission of the space shuttle program, which began on April 12, 1981 with the launch of Colombia. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)

Blanka Vlasic of Croatia and Team Europe celebrates a clearance in the women's high jump during the IAAF/VTB Continental Cup at the Stadion Poljud on September 5, 2010 in Split, Croatia. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Clouds float over an open field January 3, 2007 in Shirley Heights, Antigua. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

O Santa Claus of Australia competes in the mens 80–84 years 100 metres heats during day two of the 2009 Sydney World Masters Games at Sydney Olympic Park on October 11, 2009 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

Michelle Wie of the USA lines up a putt on the second hole during the final round of the HSBC Women's Champions on the Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club on March 5, 2017 in Singapore. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Italian Air Force's aerobatic demonstration team, the Frecce Tricolori leave colourful vapour trails as they fly over the Altare della Patria monument on Republic Day (Festa della Repubblica) in Rome, Italy, 02 Jun 2017. The anniversary marks the founding of the Italian Republic in 1946. (Photo by Massimo Percossi/EPA)