Primarily responsible for Ahmadinejad winning election in 2005
TEHRAN - Dressed in a shabby grey suit, 41-year-old Hossein looks upon himself as a selfless server of Iran.
A veteran of the eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s, Hossein -- who would not reveal his real name -- is one of the hundreds of thousands of volunteers making up the Basij (Mobilisation) militia.
The Basij is in the limelight again ahead of Iran's June 12 presidential election, after reports that its members were primarily responsible for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad winning the previous election in 2005.
It was formed by order of revolution founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini soon after the 1979 toppling of the ruthless US-backed dictator, the shah.
The militia is part of the elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, which itself was formed to defend the revolution from threats both domestic and external after the fall of the US-backed dictator.
Hossein, who still has bouts of coughing during long conversations which he says is the result of chemical attacks by Iraqi forces on Iranian soldiers, joined the Basij when he was just 16.
"I joined of my own free will. Nobody influenced me. I didn't join the force for material gain or any worldly benefits. The work of Basij is known only to God," he said.
Hossein says he has no satellite television at home because it is banned, even though many households have managed to secure access to it.
"My son has not asked for it either," he said. "You see, it all depends on the kind of personality you project. I am not forcing anything, I just try to be a role-model for him."
Most Basijis come from Iran's middle and lower middle classes and are actively involved in social causes such as vaccination campaigns.
They also take part in moral policing.
More than two decades after the Iran-Iraq war ended in 1988, the Basij snapped back into focus during the 2005 presidential election.
The little known Ahmadinejad became the surprise winner when he defeated heavyweight former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani amid reports his victory was because of massive Basij mobilisation.
One candidate in 2005, Mehdi Karroubi, who is standing again in this month's election, alleged there had been "bizarre illegal interference" by the Basij and the Revolutionary Guards to ensure an Ahmadinejad victory.
Karroubi, a reformist, has urged both the authorities and Khamenei himself to ensure there is no repeat of the 2005 experience on June 12.
However, Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said in May that the unarmed wing of the Basij will participate in "political matters".
The armed branch of the Basij forms part of the Revolutionary Guards' ground forces.
Hossein indicated that Ahmadinejad is the preferred candidate in the presidential election.
"Among the candidates, one can find a person ... can be a good president, and a true servant" of the people, he said.
Under Ahmadinejad, the Basij has "been given more space", Hossein also said.
