Social media platform X changed its Iran national flag emoji, replacing the Islamic Republic emblem with a Lion and Sun symbol, which were used for centuries before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The change came into effect on Friday, January 9, after an X user reportedly requested its replacement with the Lion and Sun symbol. It stands for the two pillars of society, the state and the Islamic religion.
X accounts of all Iranian government have been updated by the new emoji.
The updated emoji comes at a time when Iran is witnessing large-scale protests due to economic slowdown.
Protests in Iran
Iran, of late, has been reeling under intense protests from its citizens after its ailing economy put new pressure on its theocracy.
Still wobbling from a 12-day war launched by Israel and the US bombing its nuclear sites, Tehran is struggling under heavy economic pressure, only intensified in September by the return of United Nations sanctions on the country over its atomic program. These developments have put Iran’s Rial currency into a free fall, now trading at some 1.4 million to just one dollar.
The collapse of the Rial has led to a widening economic crisis. Prices are up on meat, rice and other staples of the Iranian dinner table. The nation has been struggling with an annual inflation rate of some 40 per cent.
Moreover, its self-described “Axis of Resistance” — a coalition of countries and militant groups backed by Tehran — has been decimated in the years since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.
Exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, also called for intensified demonstrations as several citizens shouted and rallied in the streets against the theocratic government. On January 9, internet access and telephone lines were cut off.
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