In this Sept. 12, 2012, photo, an Iraqi soldier stands guard next to a poster depicting late Iran's spiritual leaders Ayatollah Khomeini, right, and Ayatollah Khamenei, left, in Basra, 340 miles (547 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. After years of growing influence, a new sign of Iran's presence in Iraq has hit the streets. Thousands of signs, that is, depicting Iran's supreme leader gently smiling to a population once mobilized against the Islamic Republic in eight years of war. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)
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