Why is the Islamic Republic banning the Lion and Sun emblem amid anti-regime protests? - analysis

A gold necklace bearing the Lion and Sun, the emblem that appeared on Iran's national flag for generations, has become the latest object of scrutiny by the Islamic Republic's authorities.In Mashhad, the country's second-largest city and one of Shi'ite Islam's most important religious centers, gold traders have been instructed to stop displaying or selling jewelry and coins bearing the historic Iranian symbol, or imagery associated with the Pahlavi monarchy.

The directive, issued on Monday by the Mashhad Gold, Jewelry, Silver and Coin Dealers' Union on instructions from the police department responsible for supervising public establishments, covers everything from bracelets and pendants to commemorative coins. Shopkeepers have been ordered to inspect their inventories and displays, with the union warning that violations will be dealt with under existing regulations.

The prohibition might seem unusually specific, even for a government that has spent nearly half a century attempting to remove reminders of the monarchy it overthrew. Coming after a year of extraordinary upheaval in Iran, however, the timing is unlikely to be coincidental.

The Lion and Sun has reappeared prominently during the protests against the Islamic Republic, appearing on flags carried by demonstrators worldwide, clothing, jewelry, and other objects. It has become closely associated with supporters of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, although its appeal goes beyond only those advocating for the monarchy's restoration.From Persia's national emblem to an outlawed symbolHistorically, the Lion and Sun became a major symbol in Persia by the Safavid period, appearing on banners, coins, and artworks.

The Safavids, who ruled from the early 16th century, also established Twelver Shi'ism as Iran's dominant state religion.Under the Qajar dynasty, the emblem became more standardized and eventually appeared on the country's national flag. It survived the transition to Pahlavi rule in 1925 and remained a familiar symbol of the Iranian state until the Islamic Revolution in 1979.That long history did not save it after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran in February 1979.

Speaking in Qom on March 1 that year, Khomeini demanded the removal of royal insignia from government institutions and described the Lion and Sun as manhus, or accursed."

The accursed Lion and Sun must be removed from all ministries and offices," he declared, insisting that the country's official emblems should be Islamic.The symbol subsequently disappeared from the national flag, replaced by the Islamic Republic's new insignia. In 1980, Iran also abandoned the Red Lion and Sun as the emblem of its national humanitarian society in favor of the Red Crescent, although it retained the right to use the former humanitarian emblem under international law.Yet there is an apparent contradiction here.

For all the Islamic Republic's hostility toward the Lion and Sun, Iranians have continued to find it for sale in bazaars and jewelry shops throughout much of the past 47 years. Such selective enforcement has long been characteristic of the regime's approach to public expression.Certain displays of dissent or attachment to Iran's pre-revolutionary past have been tolerated, helping sustain the appearance of a political system in which some degree of opposition is permitted.

Yet such tolerance has always depended on the authorities, who can withdraw it as soon as they regard an expression of national identity as a political threat.

The Lion and Sun's return amid anti-regime protestsDuring the nationwide protests that began in December 2025, many demonstrators began calling for the return of the Pahlavi family and, as such, the streets saw a return of imagery associated with pre-revolutionary Iran. The Lion and Sun became a particularly prominent symbol of opposition demonstrations abroad, including the large gatherings organized in support of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.

In January, one protester climbed onto the balcony of the Iranian Embassy in London and briefly replaced the Islamic Republic's flag with the Lion and Sun.Hostility toward the symbol has also been apparent in the treatment of protesters. In September, Iran International published an investigation documenting allegations that security forces had tortured protesters bearing nationalist tattoos, including Majidreza Rahnavard, who was executed in Mashhad in December 2022 and whose arm, bearing a Lion and Sun tattoo, was allegedly beaten repeatedly by security personnel.

The investigation also detailed allegations that security forces mutilated the tattooed skin of protesters detained during this year's crackdown.In February, Ali-Akbar Salehi, Iran's former foreign minister and the head of the Foundation for Iranology, claimed that the Lion and Sun actually belonged to the Islamic Republic.Speaking at a conference on Iranian foreign policy and history, Salehi argued that the symbol was rooted in Iran's Islamic heritage, including associations with Imam Ali, whom Shi'ite Muslims regard as their first Imam, and objected to its use by others."

The Lion and Sun symbol belongs to the Islamic Republic, but others are using it," he said, according to Iranian media.Nine months later, the authorities in Mashhad have issued instructions prohibiting the sale of jewelry bearing the same emblem.Although the Lion and Sun is now closely associated with supporters of the Pahlavi monarchy, its appeal is not confined to royalists. Its history offers a connection to an Iranian national identity that existed long before the Islamic Republic.The removal of the Lion and Sun from government institutions was among the early decisions of the Islamic Revolution.

Nearly half a century later, the authorities in Mashhad are extending those restrictions to jewelry sold in private shops.

The extent to which the Mashhad directive will be enforced, or whether similar instructions will be issued elsewhere in Iran, remains uncertain. What makes the decision particularly interesting, however, is that nearly 47 years after Khomeini ordered the Lion and Sun removed from public institutions, his successors are still grappling with the very same symbol. It may have disappeared from the country's official flag, but it has proved considerably more difficult to erase from Iranian society.