Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran

Tehran, Jan 10: Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has updated the Iranian flag emoticon on its website, replacing the Islamic Republic’s official emblem with Iran’s pre-1979 lion and sun flag, even as nationwide anti-government protests entered their 15th consecutive day on Saturday.

The newly displayed flag features horizontal green, white and red stripes, with a sword-wielding lion positioned before a rising sun at the centre — a symbol that represented Iran prior to the Islamic Revolution and the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979.

Earlier, X had used the post-revolution flag adopted by Iran in 1980, which bears a red emblem of the Islamic Republic at its centre and repeated Arabic inscriptions of “Allahu Akbar” along the white stripe.

The change followed a user request on Friday, to which Nikita Bier, head of product at X, responded, “Give me a few hours.” Soon after, Bier shared a link on a coding platform indicating that the regime-era flag had been removed from X’s website code and replaced with the lion and sun emblem. The update went live early Saturday morning.

Following the change, all instances of the Iranian flag emoticon on the platform — including those appearing on official Iranian government accounts — now display the pre-revolutionary symbol.

The lion and sun flag has emerged as a prominent emblem in ongoing anti-regime demonstrations and is widely used by protestors as a sign of opposition to the Islamic Republic. It is also closely associated with support for Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah.

From exile, Pahlavi has been vocal in encouraging protesters and calling for international pressure as Iranian authorities continue to crack down on demonstrations across the country.