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X changes Iran emoji: What a comeback of pre-Islamic Revolution lion & sun flag means amid protests
The lion and sun flag was the official flag of Iran before the overthrowing of the Shah in 1979.
Social media giant X has replaced the current Iranian flag symbol on its platform to the lion-and-sun flag used in the country before the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Iran's current flag includes equal horizontal bands of green, white and red, with the Islamic emblem in red centred on the white band.
The lion and sun flag was the official flag of Iran before the overthrow of the Shah (king, or monarchy) in 1979.
This came after a user's request to update the flag symbol on Friday, to which Nikita Bier, head of Product at X, responded. “Give me a few hours.” After this, she shared a link to a coding platform showing the current flag emoji having been replaced.
This comes even as some protestors in Iran, as well as those in other countries protesting outside Iranian embassies and elsewhere, were seen waving the Shah-era flag to express their dissent with the country's government, news agency AFP reported.
How is comeback of pre-Revolution flag significant?
The waving of the pre-Islamic Revolution lion and sun flag comes amid exiled crown price Reza Pahlavi voicing his dissent against Iran's rulers, and urging people to hold demonstrations against the regime.
Pahlavi has urged protestors to carry Iran's old flag and other national symbols used during the time of his father as Shah, to “claim public spaces as your own".
Pahlavi's father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was ousted in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution, and died in 1980.
The former crown prince, who lives in the United States, said his father had been “preparing to return to my homeland” at a time he believed was “very near”.
The agitation in Iran began due to discontent over soaring inflation and the collapse of the currency, but took a political turn and intensified within days. People took to the streets in thousands, with Thursday seeing the largest protests yet.
After this, Pahlavi continued to urge the residents to protest against the cleric-led regime of Iran. After the eruption of new mass rallies on Saturday, he said the people had given a “resounding response to the threats” by the Iranian regime.
“I am certain that by making our street presence more targeted, and at the same time, by cutting off the financial lifelines, we will completely bring the Islamic Republic and its worn-out and fragile repression apparatus to its knees,” Pahlavi said, while urging workers and employees of key sectors in the country's economic to join the nationwide strike.
“Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare to seize and hold city centres,” Pahlavi said.
