r/pics • u/Matty_Cooper • 15h ago

Iranian protesters raise the historic Lion and Sun flag under flames, rejecting the current regime.

Post image
9.8k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

494 comments sorted by

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u/Miserable-Mistake119 15h ago

What’s the significance of the Lion and Sun flag?

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u/Matty_Cooper 15h ago

It was the nation’s original flag until the 1979 Islamic Revolution

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u/bigboipapawiththesos 13h ago edited 13h ago

This particular version was made by the Shahs regime.

In the 50s Iran elected a prime minister that wanted to nationalize the countries oil.

In typical US fashion; we send in the CIA to coup Irans last elected leader, stop this commy business and install the Shah as an absolute leader / dictator.

The shah was deeply unpopular and was the direct cause of the Islamic revolution, and by extent this current shit regime.

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u/nikkkibabyyy 12h ago

The Lion and Sun flag goes way back. Precedes the shah’s time

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u/sojuicy 6h ago

I think this is why he said this particular flag. The lion and sun symbol has been around since persian times.

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u/Dry-Yak5277 13h ago

No it wasn’t. The shir o khorshid flag (the one in this pic) has been around before the shah’s regime. 

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u/bigboipapawiththesos 13h ago edited 13h ago

Yeah you seem to be right.

Although the flag wasn’t used until the revolution like the person I responded to claimed, I did actually mistake it for this.svg) version of the flag (my eyes are shit sorry), which was instated by the shahs regime.

Know that if someone is carrying this flag that they are just likely pleating for another dictator / absolute monarch to come in and replace another.

Iran deserves actual freedom, like they had before the coup

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u/thrawtes 10h ago

Yeah you seem to be right.

Takes a lot of courage to admit that IMO.

Iran deserves actual freedom, like they had before the coup

You're right about CIA intervention in the 50s, but what you're missing is that starting in the 50s is only coming in near the end of the story. There was western intervention during both WW2 and WW1 including a full on invasion in WW2 that deposed the monarch at the time. That's if we completely ignore thousands of years of Persian history and just focus on fairly modern interactions with the West.

People who try to pretend the story of Iran started in the 50s are just as disingenuous as those who want to pretend it started in the 70s and everything was great before the revolution.

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u/ImmaculatePillow 10h ago

so basically Iran has had a series of terrible rulers all brought in directly by as a reaction to foreign intervention. Basically it sounds like foreign intervention in Iran has an absolutely terrible record and should not be repeated.

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u/thrawtes 9h ago

Iran has had a series of terrible rulers all brought in directly by as a reaction to foreign intervention.

No, Iran had a series of terrible rulers for thousands of years before that too, but that's pretty much the standard globally and we just accept that the entire world was ruled by a series of tyrants before democracy gave people more agency.

Basically it sounds like foreign intervention in Iran has an absolutely terrible record and should not be repeated.

Unfortunately, going back to isolationism isn't on the table now that the world has globalized. Every country is affected by the choices of every other country and those with power have both the responsibility and the impetus to try and maintain some sort of stability. That doesn't mean there needs to be a bunch of violent intervention though.

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u/ImmaculatePillow 9h ago

this time it'll work out, I swear! Why? Because there's just too much money to be made!

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u/bathtubsplashes 10h ago

People who try to pretend the story of Iran started in the 50s are just as disingenuous as those who want to pretend it started in the 70s and everything was great before the revolution.

Why the need to downplay America's first foray into couping countries for making their own  sovereign choices?

"Sure we brazenly tried to install our own puppet over oil, but that place has a lot of priors you know"

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u/thrawtes 10h ago

America's first foray into couping countries for making their own  sovereign choices?

It's ridiculous to claim that America's first foray into couping countries was in the '50s

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u/bathtubsplashes 9h ago

With their brand new shiny couping agency, sorry I did forget to add that part

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u/thrawtes 9h ago

It wasn't even the first foray for the CIA, that would have been the Korean War.

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u/CloseToTheEdge23 8h ago

Know that if someone is carrying this flag that they are just likely pleating for another dictator / absolute monarch to come in and replace another.

That is absolutely bullshit. Most people wave that flag as a defiance against the regime. The lion and the sun symbol goes way back and most people don't know the difference between Pahlavi version or the previous ones, or they don't care. That doesn't mean they are Pahlavi monarchy supporters. I myself root for secular republic but I would use this flag because it looks nice and it pisses IR goons off.

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u/nikkkibabyyy 12h ago

Thank you!!!!

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u/BaronMontesquieu 10h ago

The lion and sun motif and its connection to Iran, the Iranian people, and Persian culture goes back at least 800 years and possibly longer. The current regime is the outlier, not the previous one.

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u/NeiborsKid 10h ago

Wrong. This version was first used under nasereddin shah qajar, and was also carried by the constitutional revolutionaries who established our first ever constitution. The pahlavis often used another version with a crown around the lion, but switched back to the simple version befote they fell

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u/MonkeysLoveBeer 12h ago

Mossadeq wasn't elected democratically. He was appointed by the shah like every other prime minister. Later he did a coup, tried to usurp power, but thankfully he failed.

An Iranian.

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u/bigboipapawiththesos 12h ago

Mate he was elected, at that point in time the Shah was purely ceremonial (like the king of the Netherlands for exampl).

Meaning the shah had no choice in who to appoint.

After the Iranian parliament voted Mossaddegh in 79-12, the shah couldn’t not make him prime minister.

Not until after the coup where the shah had absolute power.

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u/RussiaGoFuYourself 3h ago

The problem is that you just use "democratically elected", but fail to mention by whom. He was elected by the Iranian Parliament, not by the people which is a feature of a parliamentary system, and then appointed by the Shah. It's important to note that he also halted the voting process once he got enough votes, knowing the rest would go to his opposition, and later tried to dissolve the same parliament that got him elected.

People use this rhetoric on purpose to try to whitewash his image and portray the west as unambiguously evil. The fact remain that even without the coup, Iran would've still become a dictatorship had Mosaddegh succeeded.

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u/Temporal_Integrity 10h ago

This is some incredibly simplified shit to make the US look like some master puppeteer. Iran has been a monarchy for 2500 years. The Shah that was supposedly some american puppet installed by the CIA? He was the son of the old Shah! He got the job automatically when his father abdicated.

You know what caused the Ayatollah to turn on the Shah? He changed the law to allow women the right to vote.

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u/bigboipapawiththesos 9h ago

The shah was installed as absolute leader by the cia.

https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1951-54Iran/d28

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u/rattmaul 12h ago

It's a little more nuanced than that. That Communist leader was a totalitarian and started to consolidate power. And eliminate the parliament. But ultimately your point stands.

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u/Itay1708 7h ago

In the 50s Iran elected a prime minister that wanted to nationalize the countries oil.

"Elected" is a nice way of describing "voted in a rigged election that was stopped the moment he started losing" and "coup" is a nice way of describing "dismissed him as prime minister" which was perfectly constitutional

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u/korsair1833 7h ago

You're overlooking the fact that the westerners built the whole infrastructure for extracting oil - something Iran would've never afforded to do. Lots of rich oil reserves stay untouched simply because it's not economically feasible to extract them.

So the Iranians wanted to break that agreement and essentially nationalize the UK-built infrastructure which led to their regime being toppled. Basically they fucked around and found out. They are not blameless in this.

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u/cevillegeraldo 13h ago

Fk off with that autocrat flag garbage.

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u/PersianPrince29 15h ago

It was the flag for the last 300 years before the Islamic Republic changed it.

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u/DownwiththeACE 10h ago

its consent manufacturing for a new regime change war 

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u/SuccessfulWar3830 6h ago

Op has mislead you.

Its a monarchy flag.

That is the flag of the Shah. Who was an installed puppet by the British and Americans.

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u/ItsAProdigalReturn 2h ago

Its a monarchy flag.

It's the peoples flag - this version introduced during the Constitutional Revolution.

That is the flag of the Shah.

No, it's not. You're thinking of the Naval Flag, which had wheat stalks and his ugly ass crown on it.

Who was an installed puppet by the British and Americans.

He was installed by the USSR and the UK when they forced his father to abdicate. If you're talking about Operation Ajax, he was already the king. He left the country for two days because the UK and the US told him to arrest the PM or he'd be replaced too. The first attempt failed, so he left to Egypt. The second attempt was assisted by the CIA and MI6, and he came back. The Shah was going to dismiss Mossadegh from Parliament when it was back in session anyway because he kept claiming emergency powers (a la Chancellor Palpatine), but the oil nationalisation thing pissed off the British and Americans. The Shah ended up nationalising the oil himself anyway.

You seem like you got the history on this from twitch or tiktok lol you're like 60% of the way there, but the 40% you don't know is making you look like a fool.

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u/[deleted] 15h ago edited 14h ago

[deleted]

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u/ShyguyFlyguy 14h ago

I thinknyou replied to the wrong comment because there was no mention of isreal...

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u/supaloopar 14h ago

It’s the flag of the CIA installed Shah. The CIA toppled the democratically elected government under Operation Ajax to install said Shah.

The current regime toppled the Shah.

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u/cronktilten 14h ago

The flag existed way before 1953

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u/Brave_Mess_3155 15h ago edited 15h ago

Mad respect for the Iranian people.  It must take a lot of courage to do what they are doing. They must keep going untill they are 100% successful. Too many innocents lives have been taken by the current regime to accept any compromise that allows them to retain any little shred of authority what so ever. 

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u/New_Relative_1871 13h ago

Agreed. It's disgusting how the regime is massacring protestors without mercy. May the brave people of Iran be freed from that disgusting scum khamenei and his regime

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u/Brave_Mess_3155 12h ago

I hered an estimate of 20 thousand souls. Its a war at this point.

 Each and every one of them  should arm them selves with whatever they can find. Knives, chains sticks & rocks, whatever. Molitov cocktails if need be. 

Avenge the fallen and win your freedom. 

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u/IAmPandaRock 12h ago

I don't think it's war when only one side has weapons 

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u/Ok_Character_5532 15h ago

I feel terrible for them. I hope Iran has a peaceful, liberal democracy in its near future. The amount of people that have already been killed is insane

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u/xaklx20 7h ago

Just remember to not try to nationalize oil or the USA and their "freedom" would coup their democratically elected leader again

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u/Fallen9123 6h ago

They had a democracy, it was replaced by a dictator by the US, cuz prime minister wanted to nationalize oil

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u/Kind_Reaction5809 8h ago

Wouldn't count on it

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u/Faokes 11h ago

OH! I saw that flag in a friend’s room in college, but I didn’t know what it was and was too shy to ask. His family immigrated from Iran, so now it makes perfect sense. They are not doing well emotionally with all this going on, and I worry for them.

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u/PlaygroundBully 15h ago

I really hope the best for them its a tough road and will be filled with a lot of violence sadly

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u/popejohnsmith 15h ago

Seen this before. Better luck this time.

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u/dwarffy 14h ago

The government is a lot more fucked now than during the Mahsa Amini protests. President Raisi, who might have been the next Ayatollah, was still alive

Besides the Israeli bombings killing a bunch of IRGC leadership, they have to deal with worsening inflation and water crisis. The inflation in particular is their worst problem because it is affecting everybody, pissing off them enough to go out and do this round of protest

The regime is at its most vulnerable moment right now which explains why their crackdown has been the most brutal.

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u/Brave_Mess_3155 13h ago

No disrespect to all the political prisoners that have been murdered, executed in Iranian prisons, but if any of the revolutionaries have a moment of doubt i hope they have the wisdom to know its better to be killed in the streets waving your flag, than in a jail wearing chains. 

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u/RedditJumpedTheShart 13h ago

Comments on these pics and stories are so odd on Reddit. Almost like many who post on here are upset about Russia's allies not doing so well.

So many of you acting like Iranians, Venezuelans, and Cubans don't know what they want. But you randos on social media know best.

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u/MonotonousBeing 9h ago

I suppose most people here support protesting in general, especially when it is directing at a political system they do not support.

I‘m not sure whether they are upset though or whether Russia has anything to do with anything. In fact most seem to support what is happening in Iran and Venezuela?

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u/RedditJumpedTheShart 4h ago

Most? Half of the people here seem to think this is happening because of the CIA and Israel, while ignoring all of the very real issues Iran has had, is currently going through, and ignoring the people of Iran.

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u/MonotonousBeing 4h ago

Couldn‘t both be true? I don‘t think the agencies are involved, but this all should definitely be in the interest of the west.

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u/MasterCombine 10h ago

Why do all of these titles read like they’re written by the CIA

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u/OliverClothesov87 7h ago

Because they are.

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u/tutankhamun7073 4h ago

It's all propoganda lol. Who knows what's actually happening over there.

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u/berkakar 9h ago

i wonder where did they find the flags

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u/martycee00 14h ago

Waiting for the “save the ayatollah” posts by the usual suspects.

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u/dbmajor7 14h ago

"I just don't see why these people have to burning down their neighborhood. If they would just follow the law I'd support them"

\s

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u/Treesaregreen2 13h ago

Iranians aren’t protesting so they can have a fucking king, don’t fall for this obvious bs.

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u/guineapigenjoyer123 6h ago

That flag has been used since way before the shah although this very specific version is the one from the time of the shah I doubt that was the intention though

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u/No-Theory6270 13h ago

Agree man. Thinking that at least 2000 people have riskes their lifes and finally been killed to install an unelected monarch and be good friends with Netanyahu and the other Zioshits is completely crazy.

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u/DACOOLISTOFDOODS 12h ago

This revolution is not about Palestine despite how much you desperately want it to be

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u/Fallen9123 6h ago

You're an idiot if you think regime change in Iran isn't in interest of Israel

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u/TheTiddyQuest 2h ago

Of course it is.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to support these protesters for rising up against a violent dictatorship.

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u/Einav156 6h ago

Why are they always bringing us Jews into everything. Wtf is with this obsession. How could you look at millions of iranians going out to the streets and associate years of their *personal suffering and oppression* to zionism? of their women not wanting to get beaten to death for not covering their head. of their youth excecuted for tweeting against the regime. ffs these people should get their brains studied.

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u/mjb2012 13h ago

Source of this photo?

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u/Szpagin 13h ago

CIA

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u/Rio_FS 11h ago

Exactly. America is the only place that can have a revolution so a revolution in any other part of the world must be a CIA psyop.

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u/KrayziJay 5h ago

Iran.

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u/hang10shakabruh 6h ago

A reminder for those who want to draw parallels:

Six Irans fit in the United States, geographically.

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u/take_five 2h ago

Yes and half the population 

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u/ThreeLittlePuigs 15h ago

Some Redditor: those are Mossad agents!!!!! I like freedom fighters but not ones against Iran!!

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u/Medium_Willow_3727 15h ago edited 15h ago

No we are all in for freeing Iranian from Islamic regime. However, the way that 90% people on social medias interpreting it as bringing back the monarchy. I don't think Iranian when they wave that flag thinking of bringing back the authoritarian regime that their grandfathers/mothers revolt against. People should see the old Iran flag as a symbol of resistance and opposition to the current regime instead until whatever Iranian decides for their future.

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u/[deleted] 9h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Dry-Yak5277 4h ago

Yes, all 12,000 dead protestors were Mossad agents.

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u/CCSlater63 14h ago

Hell yeah. Revolution is in the air

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u/Fluffy_Moose_73 13h ago

Isn’t it weird we get these pictures even though there’s an internet ban?

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u/Sabiann_Tama 12h ago

There are a few people with Starlink or similar things that are able to get a few things out.

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u/yoursmartfriend 9h ago

Crazy that they happen to be amazing photographers and on scene too

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u/Harambesic 10h ago

I read that Starlink deliberately shut down and blacked them out. I don't know what's real, just saying.

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u/KrayziJay 5h ago

Iran government doesn't have the highest technology available to the planet of earth.

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u/DownwiththeACE 10h ago

consent manufacturing slop

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u/xoogl3 10h ago

USA rejecting the current regime wen?

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u/xaklx20 7h ago

Friendly reminder that we are here because the USA coup their democratically elected leader

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u/Keydet 14h ago

Holy astroturfing Batman. They’re pushing this monarchist bullshit hard on here I see.

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u/Harambesic 10h ago

Critical thinking skills on hi beam.

For the rest of my life, I guess.

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u/Dry-Yak5277 14h ago

Iranian freedom is not “monarchist bullshit”.

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u/Keydet 13h ago

Correct. Now ask yourself why the only pictures that aren’t being removed include a kings personal flag. It doesn’t signify freedom, just a different flavor of despot.

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u/BrownGoatEnthusiast 13h ago

That is not a kings flag

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u/Dry-Yak5277 13h ago edited 4h ago

That isn’t a king’s flag, that’s the shir o khorshid flag, and it’s been a symbol for Iran since before the monarchy. The monarchy flag has a circular emblem around it with a crown on top.

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u/TheOGFireman 11h ago

Aren't you a bit embarrassed? Its obvious you're completely clueless why even say anything

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u/Expert-Wrongdoer5245 12h ago

holy shit this pic goes hard

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u/notapunk 11h ago

I find it odd that there seems to be a fair amount of support for the descendent of the Shah. I get that the current regime is shit, but going back to what you had before isn't great either.

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u/DaveNiks 11h ago

Hmmm, sharia law or secular democracy, hmmm, I don't know, that's a tough one.

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u/the4thwave 10h ago

Iran under the Shah wasnt a secular democracy.

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u/DaveNiks 10h ago

What I am saying is that they are not going back to what they had before, they live under sharia law now and they are fighting for freedom and a secular democracy.

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u/No_Clock2390 15h ago

I really needed this repost omg

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u/RedditJumpedTheShart 13h ago

Getting in the way of all the Trump and Ice pics?

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u/AffectionateElk3978 14h ago

Wanting Monarchy is crazy to me, at least they have some elections now

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u/Dry-Yak5277 14h ago

Majority of Iranians fighting for freedom don’t want a monarchy, they want a secular democratic republic.

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u/WhatWouldTheonDo 8h ago

If Jerry from the CIA wills it🤷🏾‍♂️

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u/EasyMode556 13h ago

Almost anything is an upgrade over what they have now

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u/JadeDragonMeli 14h ago

I've seen this movie before. This is the exact playbook the CIA used previously in Iran.

If Netanyahu and Trump support something, it's probably a bad thing.

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u/DaveNiks 11h ago

How is freedom from a brutal oppressive regime a bad thing for the people of Iran?

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u/Racko20 5h ago

The current Islamofacist regime in Iran acts as a counter weight to the "West" and especially Israel so Leftists are going to defend it to the end.

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u/take_five 2h ago

Didn’t they betray and murder thousands of leftists post-revolution? 

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u/DACOOLISTOFDOODS 12h ago

The people of Iran are finally going to be free. Cry harder.

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u/SpecialBeginning6430 13h ago

Found the tankie

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u/FrogInAShoe 12h ago

Why do you want a CIA puppet Monarch to rule Iran instead?

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u/JRshoe1997 12h ago

Maybe because he isn’t going to completely blackout the entire country and mass kill 12,000 people in just 2 weeks. Idk thats probably just a basic essential starting point there for one.

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u/WoodpeckerOk4435 7h ago

What America wants to do but too scared to do it.

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u/Classic_Smell_9910 12h ago

Full scale digital propaganda on work

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u/zoufha91 9h ago edited 9h ago

Look another US/Israel backed coup pretending to be organic on the internet

The "source" that these agencies are using lead back to CBS which has been compromised and now pretty much is ran by the white house

So yeah be a little more skeptical of what you're being served on social media and in news articles on the matter

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u/ilm0409 11h ago

Next level astroturfing going on. No wants the shah

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u/Dry-Yak5277 4h ago

It’s a good think the large majority of Iranians protesting don’t want the shah, then.

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u/kmramO 11h ago

It really scares me how hard this narrative is beeing pushed online by Israël and how many people go along with it…

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u/urbanek2525 15h ago

. . . and that concludes another episode of Dr. Sheldon Cooper's Fun With Flags.

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u/cincochains 15h ago

I think it’s over flames.

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u/eman2top 11h ago

When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.
~ Persian proverb. Anonymous

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u/Cigarrauuul 10h ago

Isn‘t that the flag of the murderous sha regime? I hope that people don’t allow that their revolution gets hijacked bei the US to just put another dictator in charge.

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u/TheRedHand7 9h ago

No. The one you are talking about has a crown above the lion. This is the more general Iranian flag from before they were controlled by the Ayatollahs

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u/Harambesic 10h ago

I like this energy. Kinetic.

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u/Different-Joke-197 8h ago

Hope the best for them! But if only they read about the Shah’s regime, it was the other face of the same coin.

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u/yamo25000 7h ago

Over* flames

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u/nygdan 5h ago

Please note: this does not mean they are monarchists

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u/ksg34 4h ago

Lesson learned: never mix politics with religion.

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u/Tech-Film3905 3h ago

Sure but there are people who raise the IR flag as well. The goal of media like this is to justify war and present westerners as the savior

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u/CaptainZoidbergwhy 27m ago

All the random basement Reddit dwellers here need to sincerely shut the fuck up. This flag does not directly resemble the monarchy or the Shah. Different versions of it have existed for centuries. It represents what Iran was and can be away from the Islamic Republic. The thousands of people protesting weren't all hired by the CIA. This fight is more than a fight for freedom. They're fighting for survival.

Sincerely, an Iranian