Israel’s ‘Operation Rising Lion’ targets Iran not just militarily but symbolically, evoking the pre-1979 ‘Lion and Sun’ ...

Though it might seem like a simple case of divided loyalties — two sides, two flags — the reality is more nuanced.

In 1980, the newly installed Islamic Republic replaced the Lion and Sun on the country’s tricolor flag with a tulip-shaped emblem—making both into potent political symbols.

Israel’s ’Rising Lion’ operation merges military strikes on Iran with open calls for regime change, invoking monarchist ...

The flags are similar — dominated by green, white and red bands — but while the pre-revolutionary flag has a lion and sun in the center of its white band, the Iranian national flag has an ...