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Iran: Transition period (1979-1980)

image by Martin Grieve

National flag and civil ensign
State emblem
State flag
War Flag/Naval Ensign
First flag of the Islamic Republic

See also:

National flag and civil ensign

According to Smith (1980) [smi80], " the Revolution which swept Iran in 1979 made no alteration in the national flag and arms up to the time of writing (April 1979)."
Ivan Sache, 16 October 1999

From the Flag Bulletin vol xx : 3: (May-June 1981):
"The development of new symbols in Iran was a slow process. Monuments and other visible expressions of imperial power, especially those associated personally with the deposed shah, were quickly eliminated; the imperial crown immediately disappeared from the war flag and ensign. Nevertheless other flags continued in use -- the civil flag and ensign (plain green-white-red stripes) and the state flag and ensign (the same stripes with the lion and sun in the center). The lion and sun also continued as the state arms." Curiously the same publication mentions a 1958 version of the lion and sun emblem but states that it is uncertain if this was replaced by a more "stylized" version. Can we therefore presume that the older lion and sun version on Pahlavi flags continued in use only until 1958 or is the Flag Bulletin incorrect here - i.e., should it read 1964 version? If indeed the publication is correct and the date *is* 1958, then a new suite of flags between 1958-1964 exists - i.e., ratio 1:3 with lion and sun emblem.
The Naval jack changed from a green field to blue according to Barraclough and Evans :"Flags of the world 1979" but they omit to provide us with the adoption date, nor do they instruct us on what lion and sun emblem was incorporated. Any info on above matters shall be greatly appreciated here.
Martin Grieve, 18 January 2003

State emblem

image by Martin Grieve, 18 January 2003

Similar to the pre-1979 emblem. I guess that the Imperial crown was dropped after the Shah was overthrown.
Ivan Sache, 20 August 2002
Source: Smith (1980) [smi80]

State flag

image by Martin Grieve, 18 January 2003

Flag with lion and sun, no crown.

Martin Grieve, 18 January 2003

War Flag/Naval Ensign

image by Martin Grieve, 18 January 2003

From 1979-1980 - lion and sun without imperial crown
Martin Grieve, 18 January 2003

First flag of the Islamic Republic

image by Tomislav Todorovic, 14 November 2025
based on photo; image derived from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki

The first flag of the Islamic Republic after the victory of the 1979 Revolution. It was used for a short period, and then the current flag replaced it. The symbol in the center consists of a sun along with 22 stars, representing the 22nd of Bahman – the day of the revolution’s victory" = 11 February 1979 in the western Gregorian calendar.

The flag's central logo was also briefly used on early Iranian revolutionary currency – but without the "Allahu Akbar" اللّٰهُ أَكْبَر ["Allah (God) is the Greatest (god)" i.e. "Allah is the Greatest"] expression called the "takbir".
William Garrison, 14 November 2025

Detail of emblem

image by Tomislav Todorovic, 14 November 2025
image derived from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki

This emblem, designed by painter Sadegh Tabrizi, was adopted on 1980-01-30 (10th Bahman 1358), to be replaced with the current one on 1980-05-09 (19th Ordibehesht 1359) [1, 2]. Along with 22 stars, there are also 8 clenched fists around the sun.

A photo of the flag in use, taken sometime in 1980, displays Abolhassan Banisadr, the first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, making a speech at a rally [3]. The flag is visible at the right-hand end of the photo and when zoomed in, the presence of the inscription in the central disc within the emblem (looking like a rather narrow golden horizontal band occupying the whole diameter of the disc) is revealed. Also note that there is some snow on the surface on which the president and his entourage are standing (part of the photo between the flag and the posters below) and that the photographed people are obviously dressed for cold weather, which confirms that the photo was taken early during the year.

The emblem was appearing on the banknotes issued in 1981, but clearly designed earlier. The takbir was omitted on the 1981 second-issue 5,000 rials [4] and 10,000 rials notes [5], while on the 100 rials note of the same issue [6], the emblem appears as the watermark, but the available source cannot reveal if there is any inscription in its center. On the 1981 first-issue notes [7-11], the takbir was replaced with a longer calligraphic inscription which seems not to contain it; a large disc bearing the same inscription appears on the other side of these notes. That inscription also appeared as an overprint on the banknotes of the 1980 provisional issue [12-15], which were actually the earlier Shah-era banknotes with the overprints covering the likeness of the Shah, which had originally appeared as the printed image and as the watermark. in order to discover the actual meaning of this variant of the emblem, the inscription will have to be translated.

Sources:
[1] Emblem of Iran at Wikipedia (in English):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblem_of_Iran#Islamic_Republic_of_Iran

[2] Emblem of Iran at Wikipedia (in Persian):
https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki

[3] Wikimedia Commons - Photo of Abolhassan Banisadr during a speech in early 1980:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Banisadr_and_the_early_flag_of_Iran.jpg

[4] Bank Note Museum website - 5,000 rials note, second issue of 1981:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0133.htm

[5] Bank Note Museum website - 10,000 rials note, second issue of 1981:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0134.htm

[6] Bank Note Museum website - 100 rials note, second issue of 1981:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0132.htm

[7] Bank Note Museum website - 200 rials note, first issue of 1981:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0127.htm

[8] Bank Note Museum website - 500 rials note, first issue of 1981:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0128.htm

[9] Bank Note Museum website - 1,000 rials note, first issue of 1981:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0129.htm

[10] Bank Note Museum website - 5,000 rials note, first issue of 1981:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0130.htm

[11] Bank Note Museum website - 10,000 rials note, first issue of 1981:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0131.htm

[12] Bank Note Museum website - 50 rials note, provisional issue of 1980:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0123.htm

[13] Bank Note Museum website - 500 rials note, provisional issue of 1980:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0124.htm

[14] Bank Note Museum website - 1,000 rials note, provisional issue of 1980:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0125.htm

[15] Bank Note Museum website - 5,000 rials note, provisional issue of 1980:
http://banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/ASI/IRN/IRN0126.htm

Tomislav Todorovic, 14 November 2025