The Islamic Republic of Iran

The National Flag of Iran

 پرچم ایران

Now, Iran, throughout history, has had many flags. However, I will start with the Qajar Dynasty which brought an Iranian tricolour in for the first time. This used 3 colours, of green, white, and pink. At the centre is the royal lion, holding a sword, with a crown upon its head, and sun rays bursting from behind it.

Reza Shah was coronated as the Shah of Iran in 1925, and instituted the Imperial State of Iran. This saw yet another flag being brought in. This using green, white, and red in a tricolour design, with a more simple version of the Persian lion at the flags centre. 

However, the Shah's son was deposed during the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, and the interim flag saw the tricolour kept, but the logo at the centre of the flag was removed, leaving the flag, plain.

In 1980, the flag underwent a change, which saw the introduction of a new coat of arms. Coloured red, the highly stylised coat of arms have a double meaning. The logo itself has 4 crescents, and a sword. The 5 items represent the five pillars of Islam, and the 4 crescent shapes make a very stylised spelling of the word, Allah. The sword is a Shadda, and the shape over the top of the sword represents a tulip. A flower representing the people who died patriotically in the revolution.

A further change happened later in 1980, when writing was added to the borders between the colours, and the white stripe. The writing is in stylised Kufic script, and reads "Allahu Akhbar" (God is great). This phrase is repeated 22 times, making the flag non-reversible!

The colours on the flag have their own meaning. Red represents bravery and valour, white represents honesty and peace, and the green represents hope and growth.