This article is about the historical and opposition flag of Iran. For the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the wider history of Iranian flags, see Flag of Iran. For the emblem itself, see Lion and Sun.
The emblem consists of a male lion in front of a rising sun, coloured in gold and centred on the white band. Its appearance has varied across over time. In some versions, the lion holds a sword, while in others it stands unarmed, with all four paws on the ground. The sun is nowadays depicted as a simple disc with rays, though earlier designs often included a face. Some versions include a thin horizontal base beneath the lion. A crown was sometimes displayed above the emblem on the national flag, while the war flag and naval ensign additionally featured a surrounding wreath, without the crown after 1979.[citation needed]
In the standard modern design, the lion stands on a base holding a sword, the sun has no facial features, and no crown is present. The base rests directly atop the red stripe, leaving no gap beneath it.[1][non-primary source needed]
Colour scheme
As no official colour specifications were published for the flag, the following values represent approximations derived from a modern digital reconstruction of the historical flag.[1][non-primary source needed] Historically, flagmakers used varying shades of green, white, red, and yellow/gold.[citation needed]
The earliest evidence of the Lion and Sun symbol in Iran dates back thousands of years, even predating the Achaemenid era.[4]
The earliest representations of the Lion and Sun, a lapis lazuli seal from the Jiroft civilisation (c. 3rd millennium BC).
During the Achaemenid period, the Lion and Sun motif appeared in several forms.[5][6] One example is a seal depicting Artaxerxes II accompanied by a lion, the sun symbolising Mithra, and a woman riding a lion representing Anahita.[7]
Another example is a coin issued by the Persian satrap of Cilicia, Mazaeus, which depicts a lion and sun motif.[8]
The Lion and Sun emblem also appeared in the 12th century, though it only became a national symbol during the Qajar era. Its first appearance on a flag is thought to be on an early green-white-red tricolour, featuring thin green and red stripes, designed by Amir Kabir and in use from 1848 to 1852. The first equal-height stripe designs are said to have appeared by the late 1880s. These accounts are poorly documented and may be entirely unfounded, and they are far less certain than the flag officially adopted in 1907.[9]
Late Qajar and Pahlavi era
Illustration of a historic meeting between Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Reza Shah in 1934, with the contemporary Iranian flag
The first official version of the Lion and Sun flag was adopted in the wake of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906[2] and codified in the Supplementary Fundamental Laws of 7 October 1907 as the state flag of the country. The new banner was described as a tricolour of "green, white, and red, with the emblem of the Lion and the Sun."[10] On 4 September 1910, a decree specified the exact details of the emblem, including the size and position of the lion, and the shape of its tail, sword, and sun.[11] During this period, the colours of the flag were very pale, with the red appearing closer to pink in practice.
Following Reza Shah's coup d'état and through the Pahlavi era, the flag underwent several gradual changes. In 1933, the colours of the flag were darkened, and the sun was stripped of its facial features. In 1964, the flag's proportions were altered from 1:3 to 4:7.[citation needed] In 1973, the government introduced a new flag using a standardised design for the Lion and Sun emblem,[citation needed] though it is not clear if it replaced all pre-existing designs, as the style of the emblem continued to vary depending on the manufacturer.
Although the Lion and Sun tricolour served as the official state flag, the plain green-white-red tricolour remained widely used in civilian contexts. Both versions coexisted, with the emblem-bearing flag primarily associated with the state and diplomatic use.[12][non-primary source needed]
Post-Islamic revolution
Following the overthrow of the monarchy in 1979 at the onset of the Iranian Revolution, the interim government began phasing out the Lion and Sun in favour of the plain tricolour.[citation needed] However, after the Islamic takeover in 1980, the new government outlawed the use of the old flag entirely, justifying the restrictions by claiming that the banner was a symbol of the "oppressive Westernising monarchy," despite the emblem's traditional Shia usage.[13][14] In 1980, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini demanded the "ominous" Lion and Sun be removed from all government offices as an "artefact of the tyrannical regime".[15][16]
Since its relinquishment, there has been no official government-issued standard defining the modern appearance of the Lion and Sun flag. As a result, modern reproductions of the banner vary in details, including colour shades, proportions, the presence or absence of the crown, and especially the rendering of the Lion and Sun emblem.[c][non-primary source needed]
Contemporary use
Historically, since the Islamic Revolution, the Lion and Sun flag has been associated with monarchist movements, while some republican and reformist groups preferred the plain tricolour. Over time, the Lion and Sun banner has been adopted more broadly as a symbol of Iranian national identity and opposition to the Islamic Republic rather than exclusively symbolising the pre-1979 monarchy.[3]
Public opinion data suggests the banner's growing recognition and popularity within the country. In a February 2022 survey conducted by GAMAAN in Iran, prior to the outbreak of the Mahsa Amini protests, 46% of respondents chose the Lion and Sun flag as their preferred national flag, compared with 30% who chose the current official flag, and 19% who preferred the plain tricolour without symbols.[18]
Protestor tears down the Islamic Republic flag at its embassy in London and holds up the Lion and Sun flag, 10 January 2026
Use in protests
The flag is regularly seen at international rallies across North America and Europe, where members of the Iranian diaspora wave it to show solidarity with protest movements in Iran.[19] It has been particularly prominent during demonstrations in major Western cities such as London, Berlin, Paris, Toronto, and Los Angeles.[citation needed]
2025–2026 protests
Domestically, the Lion and Sun flag re-emerged during the 2025–2026 protests in Iran, with demonstrators publicly waving the flag[20][21] and, in some cases, tearing down and burning official Islamic Republic flags.[22]
In solidarity with the uprising in Iran, protesters tore down the Islamic flag at the Islamic Republic's embassy in London and replaced it with the Lion and Sun flag.[23] The flag was also raised at the Islamic Republic consulate in Munich during the diaspora protests.[24] The Lion and Sun flag has been seen as a symbol of secularism and freedom, in defiance of the theocratic rule.[25][26]
Flag emoji
On 9 January 2026, the Twemoji emoji library changed the Iran flag emoji from the Islamic Republic flag to the modern design of the Lion and Sun flag.[27] As a result, the Lion and Sun flag now appears on most web and iPhone clients when browsing X (formerly Twitter). Some Islamic Republic officials, including Ali Khamenei, removed the flag from their Twitter profiles prior to the change taking effect after the original announcement,[28] though many did not do so in time, resulting in widely shared screenshots of officials' names next to the Lion and Sun flag.[citation needed]
Proposals to implement a similar change in the Google Noto emoji library are currently under discussion.[29]
Gallery
Alternate designs
Modern design with the crown and without the base
Modern reconstruction of the naval war flag used 1933–1979
Flag without the base and sword, and with a face on the sun
↑The design above was created in 2012 and is not official, though it is the most widely used design among members of the Iranian opposition and diaspora.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
.svg){kind=link}
