The pan-Iranian colours are

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, and

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

, and sometimes

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...

. They have been used and continue to be used on the flags and banners of many Iranian countries and regions, including

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

, and

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...

. Rooted in an ancient tradition that became prominent in the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

, the pan-Iranian colours and the similar patterns in which they are used symbolize the shared origins of the

Iranian peoples The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separat ...

History

According to the Avesta, the full free population of ancient Iranian society was divided into three classes, each of which was associated with a certain colour: * Military nobility (

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

: raθaē-štar) – represented by red, symbolizing military valour and blood and self-sacrifice in the name of high ideals, so it is considered the most revered and noble; *

Mobad A Mobed, Mowbed, or Mobad (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭢𐭥𐭯𐭲) is a Zoroastrian cleric of a particular rank. Unlike an ''herbad'' (''ervad''), a ''mobed'' is qualified to serve as celebrant priest at the Yasna ceremony and other higher liturgical ...

s (āθravan) – represented by white, symbolizing spirituality, moral purity, cleanliness, and holiness; * Pastoralist-farmer community (vāstrya fšuyant) – represented by green, symbolizing nature, youth, and prosperity.

Current flags

State flags

File:Flag of Iran.svg,

Flag of Iran The national flag of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, پرچم ایران, Parčam-e Irân, ), also known as the Tricolour, tricolor ( fa, پرچم سه‌رنگ ایران, Parčam-e se rang-e Irân, link=no, ), is a tricolour (flag ...

File:Flag of Tajikistan.svg, Flag of Tajikistan File:Flag of Kurdistan.svg, Flag of the Kurdistan Region

Flags of movements and parties

File:Flag of the Baloch People.svg, Flag of the

Balochistan independence movement The Insurgency in Balochistan is an insurgency or revolt by Baloch nationalists against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers the Balochistan Province in southwestern Pakistan, Sistan and Baluchestan Prov ...

File:Balochistan flag.svg, Variant flag of the Balochistan independence movement File:Flag of BNP.svg, Flag of the Balochistan National Party (Mengal) File:Flag of Kurdistan.svg, Flag of the

Kurdistan independence movement Kurdish nationalism (, ) is a nationalist political movement which asserts that Kurds are a nation and espouses the creation of an independent Kurdistan from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Early Kurdish nationalism had its roots in the Ottom ...

File:Flag of Rojava.svg, Variant flag of the Kurdistan independence movement File:Flag of Pakhtunistan.svg, Flag of the Pashtunistan independence movement File:Flag of the Talysh National Movement.svg, Flag used by

Talysh Talysh may refer to: *Talysh people *History of Talysh *Talysh language *Talysh Khanate, in existence from 1747 to 1828 *Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic, a self-declared autonomy, which existed briefly in the south of Azerbaijan in 1993 *Talysh M ...

nationalists File:Flag of Afghanistan (1992–2001).svg, Flag used by the

Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...

, NRF, and other Anti-Taliban or pro-Tajik factions in Afghanistan File:Flag of Kurdistan Workers' Party.svg, Flag of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...

File:Flag of Pan-Iranist-Party.svg, Flag of the

Pan-Iranist Party The Pan-Iranist Party ( fa, حزب پان‌ایرانیست, Ḥezb-e Pān-Irānist) is a small opposition political party in Iran that advocates pan-Iranism. The party is not registered and is technically banned, however it continues to operate ...

File:Flag of Pan-Iranist-Party alt.svg, Variant flag of the Pan-Iranist Party

Former flags

File:Flag of Persia (1907).svg, Flag of the Sublime State of Iran, 1907–1910 File:Flag of Persia (1910).svg, Flag of the Sublime State of Iran, 1910–1924 File:Flag of Iran (1925).svg, Flag of the Imperial State of Iran, 1925–1964 File:State flag of Iran 1964-1980.svg, Flag of the Imperial State of Iran, 1964–1979 File:Flag of Afghanistan (1928).svg, Flag of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, 1928 File:Flag of Afghanistan (1928–1929).svg, Flag of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, 1928–1929 File:Flag of Afghanistan (1929–1931).svg, Flag of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, 1929–1931 File:Flag of Afghanistan (1931–1973).svg, Flag of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, 1931–1973 File:Flag of Afghanistan (1973–1974).svg, Flag of the

Republic of Afghanistan A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

, 1973–1974 File:Flag of Afghanistan (2002-2004).svg, Flag of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan, 2002–2004 File:Flag of Afghanistan (2013–2021).svg, Flag of the

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic that ruled Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan interim (2001–2002) and transitional (2002–2004) administrations, which were formed ...

, 2004–2021 File:Flag of Kingdom of Kurdistan (1922-1924).svg, alt=, Flag of the

Kingdom of Kurdistan The Kingdom of Kurdistan was a short-lived Kurdish state proclaimed in the city of Sulaymaniyah following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Officially, the territory involved was under the jurisdiction of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. S ...

, 1922–1924 File:Flag of the Republic of Ararat (fictitious).svg, Flag of the Republic of Ararat, 1927–1931 File:Republic of Mahabad flag.svg, Flag of the

Republic of Mahabad The Republic of Mahabad or the Republic of Kurdistan ( ku, کۆماری کوردستان / Komara Kurdistanê; fa, جمهوری مهاباد) was a short-lived Kurdish self-governing unrecognized state in present-day Iran, from 22 January to 1 ...

, 1945–1946 File:Flag of the Azerbaijan People's Government.svg, Flag of the

Azerbaijan People's Government The Azerbaijan People's Government ( az, آذربایجان میللی حکومتی - Azərbaycan Milli Hökuməti; fa, حکومت خودمختار آذربایجان) was a short-lived unrecognized secessionist state in northern Iran from Nov ...

, 1945–1946 File:Azerbaijan people's government flag.svg, Flag of the Azerbaijan People's Government (alternative), 1945–1946 File:Flag of Azadistan.svg, Flag of

Azadistan Azadistan ( fa, آزادستان, Āzādestān, lit=The Land of Freedom), was a short-lived state in Iranian Azerbaijan that lasted from the early 1920 until September 1920. It was established by Mohammad Khiabani, an Iranian patriot, who was a ...

, 1920 File:Flag of the Talysh National Movement.svg, Flag of the Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic, 1993 File:Flag of Tajikistan 1991-1992.svg, Flag of the Republic of Tajikistan, 1991–1992

References