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 fighter belonging to Jaish al-Islam (Islam Army) runs to take cover near the frontline on March 14, 2016 in the neighbourhood of Jobar, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus. (Photo by Amer Almohibany/AFP Photo)

An upside-down pair of pants is seen atop a mound of snow, Wednesday, February 20, 2019, the result of yet another snow storm to hit Omaha, Neb. The latest winter storm dumped more snow on top of the existing snow, creating a problem of what to do with all the cleared snow. (Photo by Nati Harnik/AP Photo)

Michelle Rodriguez attends the De Grisogono Party during the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival at on May 15, 2018 in Antibes, France. (Photo by INSTARimages.com)

Newlyweds pose on a zebra crossing for wedding photographers during the 2018 soccer World Cup in Samara, Russia, Sunday, July 8, 2018. (Photo by Frank Augstein/AP Photo)

A zookeeper counts penguins through an observation window during the annual stocktake at ZSL London Zoo in central London on January 3, 2023. (Photo by Justin Tallis/AFP Photo)

An Israeli police officer holds his weapon as he stands in front of an injured Israeli driver moments after witnesses said his car crashed into a Palestinian on a pavement during stone-throwing clashes near Lion's Gate just outside Jerusalem's Old City on May 10, 2021. (Photo by Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters)

A naked Hindu holy man arrives to bath in the Godavari River during Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, at Trimbakeshwar in Nasik, India, Saturday, August 29, 2015. Hindus believe taking a dip in the waters of a holy river during the festival, will cleanse them of their sins. According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a furious battle over a nectar that would give them immortality. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)