Sale of Lion and Sun jewelry banned in Mashhad — Jerusalem Post
In Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, gold merchants have been ordered to stop selling and displaying jewelry and coins featuring the Lion and Sun symbol, as well as images associated with the Pahlavi dynasty. This was reported by The Jerusalem Post.
The order was issued by the Mashhad Union of Gold, Jewelry, Silver and Coin Sellers at the instruction of a police unit overseeing public establishments. It applies to bracelets, pendants, and commemorative coins. Shop owners were ordered to inspect their inventories and display windows, while the union warned that existing regulations would be enforced in the event of violations.
A symbol of national history
The Lion and Sun was an important symbol of Persia as early as the Safavid rule, and under the Qajar dynasty it was standardized and began to be used on the state flag. The emblem remained after the Pahlavi dynasty came to power in 1925 and continued to be a symbol of the Iranian state until the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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After returning to Iran in February 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini demanded that monarchical symbols be removed from state institutions. In a speech in Qom on March 1 of that year, he called the Lion and Sun cursed and insisted that the country’s official emblems be Islamic. The symbol subsequently disappeared from Iran’s flag, giving way to the new emblem of the Islamic Republic.
Return at protests
Recently, the symbol has again gained prominence at protests against the Islamic Republic, particularly among supporters of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. Flags featuring the Lion and Sun were used by participants in demonstrations abroad, while the symbol itself appeared on clothing and jewelry.
In February, former Iranian Foreign Minister and head of the Iranology Foundation Ali-Akbar Salehi stated that the symbol belongs to the Islamic Republic and has roots in the country’s Islamic heritage, including an association with Imam Ali. Nine months after this statement, the Mashhad Union of Gold, Jewelry, Silver and Coin Sellers issued instructions banning the sale of products bearing the same emblem.
