Overview
- X deployed a platform-wide update that replaced Iran’s post-1979 emblem with the Lion-and-Sun on the flag emoji, visible on the web and on many devices.
- The switch followed a user request approved in the open-source Twemoji repository, with X executives Nikita Bier and engineer Jeremy Bier indicating the rollout.
- The new emoji displays even on accounts of Iranian officials and state-linked outlets such as Tasnim News, though some profiles later removed flag icons.
- Protests over economic hardship continue across all provinces under sweeping internet and telephone shutdowns, with fires and Lion-and-Sun flags seen in cities including Hamedan.
- Human-rights groups report dozens of deaths, with tallies ranging from at least 45 to roughly 65, as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warns that “rioters must be put in their place.”