Elon Musk has drawn attention amid escalating protests in Iran after responding in Farsi to a post by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and overseeing a change to Iran’s flag emoji on social media platform X, replacing the post-1979 Islamic Republic symbol with the pre-revolutionary lion and sun.
The move comes as demonstrations that began on December 28 over soaring inflation and shortages spread to more than 100 cities, with protesters increasingly calling for an end to clerical rule. “The focus of the protests is on the core of the state and governance of the country,” Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera.
Iran has imposed a nationwide internet blackout since Thursday, limiting the visibility of Musk’s actions for protesters on the ground, while clashes with security forces continue. Semiofficial media reported that 109 security personnel have been killed, figures disputed by opposition activists, as analysts questioned the real-world impact of symbolic gestures online. “I doubt he cares about Iran per se,” said Barbara Slavin of the Stimson Center, adding that “what is happening outside Iran is not that relevant” to the struggle unfolding inside the country.