Flag of Iran

The national flag of Iran has green, white, and red horizontal bands and a red emblem centered on the white band. Its design and inscriptions reflect the Islamic Republic established in 1979.

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Emblem of Iran: Iran’s national emblem is a stylized red design formed from Islamic and Persian motifs. The central emblem is the flag’s defining visual mark.
Iranian Revolution: The Iranian Revolution of 1978–79 overthrew the Pahlavi monarchy and established an Islamic Republic. The revolution prompted the replacement of the flag’s royal emblem.
Islamic Republic of Iran: The Islamic Republic of Iran is the state established after the 1979 revolution, combining elected institutions with clerical authority. The flag represents this post-revolutionary political order.
Flag of Afghanistan: The flag of Afghanistan has changed repeatedly with shifts in government and national identity. Like Iran’s, Afghanistan’s flag history reflects competing political visions in the region.
Takbir: Takbir is the Arabic phrase “Allahu akbar,” meaning “God is greatest.” The phrase is repeated in Kufic script along the boundaries between the flag’s bands.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was Iran’s last shah, ruling from 1941 until the 1979 revolution. The flag used before the current design bore the Pahlavi-era Lion and Sun.
Iranian nationalism: Iranian nationalism is identification with Iran as a nation, shaped by its history, culture, language, and political experience. The tricolor links the Islamic Republic’s flag to older national symbolism.
Flag of Tajikistan: The flag of Tajikistan has red, white, and green horizontal bands with a crown and stars at the center. Its related colors and Persian cultural ties invite comparison with Iran’s tricolor.
Pan-Iranism: Pan-Iranism is a political ideology advocating solidarity among Iranian peoples and, in some forms, territorial unity. It helps explain older nationalist interpretations of the tricolor’s colors.
Lion and Sun: The Lion and Sun is a historic Iranian emblem depicting a lion before a sun, used on earlier national flags. It was removed from the flag after the monarchy fell.