Last modified: 2002-07-05 by ivan sache
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![[Iranian flag]](../images/i/ir.gif)
by Zeljko Heimer
Flag adopted 29 July 1980, coat of
arms adopted 10 May 1980.
Proportion: 4:7
Description: Horizontally divided green-white-red with a red
emblem in center and stylized
writings on the horizontal edges of the white
stripe.
The hoist of the Iranian flag should be at the viewer's right, as it
is the case for Saudi Arabia and
Iraq, two other flags featuring Arabic writings
(which read from right to left).
Use: on land, civil, State and war flag, at sea,
civil, State and war ensign.
Colour approximate specifications (as given in Album des Pavillons [pay00]):
On this page:
See also:
The colours of the Iranian flag are traditional, probably dating from at least the 18th century and they can be interpreted as representing the Islamic religion (green), peace (white), and courage (red). The were first designed in tricolour form in 1907. The flag's centrepiece formerly comprised a lion with a sword standing before a reising sun, with a crown above, but all traditional flags and banners were abolished after the abdication of the shah in 1979.
Source: Shaw, 1994 [shw94]
Carlos de Noronha, 28 March 1998
The symbol consists of four crescents and a sword. The four crescents are meant to stand for the word Allah (there is indeed some resemblence to the Arabic writing of it). The five parts of the emblem symbolize the five principles of Islam. Above the sword (central part) is a "tashdid" (looks a bit like a W). In Arabic writing this is used to double a letter, here it doubles the strength of the sword.
Harald Müller, 14 May 1996
The shape of the emblem is chosen to remind a tulip, for the memory of the (young) people who died for Iran. It is an ancient belief in Iran, dating back to mythology, that if a young soldier dies patriotically, a red tulip will grow on his grave. In recent years it is considered as the symbol of martyrdom.
M. N., 7 June 1999
There are Arabic writings in the border line of the stripes. These are 22 copies of the main Islamic phrase Allahu Akbar meaning "God is greater (than everything)".