Lion and Sun flag

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lion and Sun flag" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Iran

Lion and Sun flag[a]
Use	National flag
Proportion	4:7[1][2]
Adopted	7 October 1907; 118 years ago (1907-10-07)
Relinquished	1979 (de facto)[3] 29 July 1980 (de jure)
Design	A horizontal tricolour of green, white, and red with the golden Lion and Sun symbol centred on the white band.[b]
Flag with darker colours; believed to be closer to the original flags used before 1979

The Lion and Sun flag^[a] is a historic Iranian national flag consisting of a green-white-red horizontal tricolour charged with the Lion and Sun emblem. It served as the state flag of Iran from 1907 until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after which it was strictly banned.^[4] Since then, the flag has had no official status but continues to be used as a historical and political symbol, particularly among the Iranian diaspora and opposition movements.^[5][6]

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 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 unofficial standardised 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.^{[2][1][non-primary source needed]}

The specifications presented below are sourced from the proportions established under the recent unofficial standardisation for the modern design of the Lion and Sun flag.^{[2][non-primary source needed]}

The Lion and Sun flag of Iran is defined as an equal-height green–white–red horizontal tricolour with an aspect ratio of 4:7. The flag measures 120 × 210 units. A gold Lion and Sun emblem measuring 39 × 54 units is centred horizontally on the white band and positioned directly atop the red band.

The following values are derived from the unofficial standardised modern design of the flag.^{[2][1][non-primary source needed]} Historically, flagmakers used varying, often darker shades of green, white, red, and yellow/gold. Many favour versions of the flag with darker colours as they are closer to the original shades used before 1979.^{[citation needed]}

The Lion and Sun is an emblem that is intrinsically Iranian and can be traced back thousands of years, even predating the Achaemenid era.^[7]

During the Achaemenid period, the Lion and Sun motif appeared in several forms.^[8][9] One such example is a seal depicting Artaxerxes II accompanied by Anahita, with the latter riding a lion with a sun symbolising Mithra appearing behind her.^[10]

The emblem continued to appear intermittently throughout the centuries until the emblem was adopted during the Safavid era to distinguish the country's national identity from neighbouring powers, such as the Ottoman Empire with the star and crescent.^[11]

The Lion and Sun only became a national symbol during the Qajar era. One of the first appearances of the lion holding a sword on a flag was during the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813); the sword was added at the recommendation of Molla Ahmad Naraqi.^{[citation needed]}

The first instance of the emblem appearing on a tricolour flag is thought to be on an early green–white–red design with thin green and red stripes, designed by Amir Kabir and used from 1848 to 1852 during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar. The first equal-height stripe design is said to have appeared by the late 1880s. These accounts are poorly documented and may be entirely unfounded as they are far less certain than the flag officially adopted in 1907.^[12]

Illustration of a historic meeting between Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Reza Shah in 1934, with the contemporary Iranian flag

Numerous Lion and Sun flags hoisted at Pasargadae during the 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire, 1971

The first official version of the Lion and Sun flag was adopted in the wake of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906^[4] 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."^[13] 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.^[14] 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 1972, the government introduced a new flag using a standardised design for the Lion and Sun emblem,^{[citation needed][15]} 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.^{[16][non-primary source needed]}

Following the overthrow of the monarchy in 1979 at the onset of the Islamic Revolution, the interim government began phasing out the Lion and Sun in favour of the plain tricolour.^[3] 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.^[17][18] In 1980, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini demanded the "ominous" Lion and Sun be removed from all government offices as an "artefact of the tyrannical regime".^[19][20]

Recently, some Islamic Republic officials have changed course and attempted to claim the Lion and Sun as a symbol of Islam in an effort to undermine the ongoing 2025–2026 Iranian protests.^[21] Despite this, Iranians continue to use it as a symbol of opposition to the ruling government.^[8][18]

• Design evolution over time
• 
  Supposed tricolour designed by Amir Kabir between 1848 and 1852, modern reconstruction^[12]
• 
  Supposed equal-stripe tricolour reported in 1886, modern reconstruction^[12]
• 
  State flag of Persia (1907–1933), modern reconstruction^{[citation needed]}
• 
  State flag of Iran (1933–1964), modern reconstruction^{[citation needed]}
• 
  Historical version using the former standardised Lion and Sun emblem (1972–1980)^[22]
• 
  Standardised modern version used from 2012 onwards

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. In the absence of an official specification, a standardised modern design has come to serve as a de facto reference model.^{[c][non-primary source needed]}

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.^[6]

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.^[23]

Protestor tears down the Islamic Republic flag at its embassy in London and holds up the Lion and Sun flag, 10 January 2026

A massive Lion and Sun flag being raised in Munich as part of the Global day of action for the Iranian people, organised by Reza Pahlavi on 14 February 2026.

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.^[24] It has been particularly prominent during demonstrations in major Western cities such as London, Berlin, Paris, Munich, Toronto, and Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]}

Domestically, the Lion and Sun flag re-emerged during the 2025–2026 protests in Iran, with demonstrators publicly waving the flag^[25][26] and, in some cases, tearing down and burning official Islamic Republic flags.^[27]

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.^[28] On 14 February 2026, a massive 50-metre (160 ft) version of the flag was raised in Munich during the "Global Day of Action" diaspora protests.^[29] The Lion and Sun flag has been seen as a symbol of secularism and freedom, in defiance of theocratic rule.^[30][31]

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.^[32] 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 the then-living Ali Khamenei, removed the flag from their Twitter profiles prior to the change taking effect after the original announcement,^[33] though many did not do so in time, resulting in widely shared screenshots of Islamic regime officials' names next to the Lion and Sun flag.^[34]

• Flag in different aspect ratios
• 
  3:5 ratio
• 
  1:2 ratio
• 
  Square
• 
  Circle
• 
  Flag emoji

• Alternate designs
• 
  Modern reconstruction using proportions seen in the 1973 Persian Empire celebration
• 
  Modern design with the full wreath and crown
• 
  Modern design with the crown and without the platform
• 
  Traditional digital design with the crowned wreath
• 
  Traditional digital design
• 
  Alternative recent standardisation based on the 1972 version. Construction sheet can be found here
• 
  Traditional variant of the Lion and Sun flag used prior to the revolution
• 
  Another contemporary rendition of the flag
• 
  Variant that has also been widely used in protests
• 
  Another variant used by numerous protesters; this design is the one used in the 50-metre Munich flag

• Flag being waved in protests
• 
  Protest for the regularisation of sans papiers immigrants in Brussels on 17 June 2007
• 
  Green Movement solidarity protest in Irvine, California on 21 June 2009
• 
  Lion and Sun flag being waved during the Green Movement solidarity protest in Irvine, CA on 21 June 2009
• 
  Diaspora member holding a Lion and Sun flag umbrella in Amsterdam, 25 July 2009
• 
  "Woman, Life, Freedom" solidarity protest at the Tiergarten in Berlin, 22 October 2022
• 
  Flag flown at a Woman Life Freedom solidarity protest in Victoria, BC on 19 November 2022
• 
  Various flags shown during a protest at Trafalgar Square, London on 1 April 2023
• 
  Solidarity rally against the Islamic regime in Perth, Australia on 10 January 2026
• 
  Lion and Sun flag raised at theIranian Embassy in Washington D.C. on 11 January 2026
• 
  Rally held in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. on 11 January 2026
• 
  Anti-Islamic Republic protest in Gothenburg, Sweden, 17 January 2026
• 
  Solidarity rally against the Islamic regime in San José, 17 January 2026

• Flag being used by public figures/in public events
• 
  Motorcade carrying U.S. President Richard Nixon during his trip to Tehran on 30 May 1972, with large Iranian and U.S. flags in the background
• 
  Mohammad Reza Pahlavi speaking with Iranian military officials, flag visible in background, 1972
• 
  Khomeini spokesperson Sadegh Tabatabaei at a post-revolution press conference with the 1973 version of the flag behind him, March 1979
• 
  Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi being sworn in with the flag behind him at the Koubbeh Palace in Cairo, 31 October 1980

• Flag of Iran
• Lion and Sun
• List of Iranian flags
• Derafsh
• Derafsh Shahdad
• Derafsh Shahbaz
• Derafsh Kaviani

• White-red-white flag, used by Belarusians in opposition to Soviet rule in Belarus and later, the presidency of Alexander Lukashenko
• White-blue-white flag, used by Russians in opposition to Vladimir Putin
• Heritage and Freedom flag, used by the Vietnamese diaspora against the communist government in Vietnam
• Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth, currently in use by the Republic of China and used by Chinese opposition groups against communist rule in mainland China
• Afghan tricolour, used by Afghans in opposition to Taliban rule in Afghanistan
• Yellow-blue-red seven star flag, used by Venezuelans in opposition to the Bolivarian regime in Venezuela
• Revolutionary three-star tricolour flag, used by Syrians in opposition to Ba'athist rule in Syria from 2011 to 2024