Flag of Iran

The national flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a beautiful tricolour made of three equal horizontal bands of green, white, and red. In the middle of the white band, there is an Islamic emblem in red, and along the edges of the green and red bands, you can find the Arabic Takbir written 11 times in white Kufic script.

The first official flag of Iran was adopted on 14 August 1905. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the flag was updated to its current design on 29 July 1980.

Some Iranian opposition groups who do not support the current Islamic government use a different flag called the Lion and Sun flag or the same green-white-red tricolour but without any extra designs. However, these flags are not recognized by the government and the Lion and Sun flag is not allowed to be shown in public.

Flag description

The flag of Iran has three equal horizontal bands of green, white, and red. In the center of the white band is an emblem made of four curved shapes and a straight shape, which stands for a special Arabic word. Along the edges of the green and red bands, there are words written 11 times on each side.

The colors green, white, and red are important to Iran and its history. These same colors are also used in the flags of nearby places such as Tajikistan and Kurdistan. There are rules about how to make and use the flag, which are described in a special Iranian standard called ISIRI 1.

History

The oldest flag found in Iran is the Shahdad Standard, dating back to around 2400 BCE. It was made of bronze and shows a seated man and a kneeling woman with a star between them.

During the Achaemenid Empire, Persian armies and officers used different standards or banners. One famous banner described was a golden eagle on a spear, used by Artaxerxes II. Each army division had its own standard, and officers displayed banners over their tents.

In the Sasanian Empire, various emblems and banners were used. The Seljuk Empire used black flags, often decorated with emblems presented by the Abbasid caliphs. The Ghaznavid dynasty promoted Iranian culture and used symbols like the Sun and Lion.

The Safavid Empire promoted Shi'a Islam and adopted the lion and sun as a national emblem. This symbol became widely recognized during the reign of Shah Abbas.

Nader Shah of the Afsharid era avoided using the color green, which was linked to Shia Islam and the Safavid dynasty. His flags were large and made of silk in red, blue, white, and yellow.

The Zand dynasty used a white triangular pennant with a green border and a gold lion and sun. Another version included green and red.

During the early Qajar era, flags often featured the lion and sun motif. Fath-Ali Shah Qajar’s military flags included this symbol along with inscriptions and dates. These flags were similar to European designs, with red or blue backgrounds and white streamers.

After the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, the first modern Iranian tricolour was adopted on 14 August 1905. It featured green, white, and red horizontal bands with a lion and sun emblem in the center. This design was used until the Islamic Revolution in 1979, after which it was replaced by the current flag of Iran. Today, some opposition groups still use the lion and sun flag as a symbol of protest.

Historical flags

Here is a list of the flags of Iran from the year 1736 onward. The designs shown are modern reconstructions made using computer graphics.

Years in use	Naval ensign	Civil flag	State flag
1736–1747	Naval flag of Nader Shah (1736–1747)	Diplomatic flag of Nader Shah (1736–1747)	War flag of Nader Shah (1736–1747)
1797–1834	War flag of Fat'h Ali Shah Qajar (1797–1834)	Peace flag of Fat'h Ali Shah Qajar (1797–1834)	Diplomatic flag of Fat'h Ali Shah Qajar (1797–1834)
1834–1848			Flag used during the reign of Mohammad Shah Qajar (1834–1848)
1848–1852			State flag (1848–1852)
1852–1906	Naval ensign (1852–1906)		State flag (1852–1906)
1906–1933	Naval ensign (1906–1933)	Civil flag (1906–1933)	State flag (1906–1933)
1933–1964	Naval ensign (1933–1964)	Civil flag (1933–1964)	State flag (1933–1964)
1964–1979	Naval ensign (1964–1979)	Civil flag (1964–1980)	State flag (1964–1979)
1979–1980	Naval ensign (1979–1980)	Civil flag (1964–1980)	State flag (1980)
1980–present	Naval ensign (1980–present)	Civil flag (1980–present)	State flag (1980–present)