Iranian Factory Makes U.S. and Israeli Flags to Burn During Protests

Burning American, Israeli and British flags is a cherished tradition among Iranian nationalists and demonstrators. 

Thanks to the escalating tensions between the countries, business is booming at Iran’s largest flag factory, which has been producing U.S., British and Israeli flags for Iranian protesters to burn.

At the Tehran-based factory, young men and women print the flags by hand then hang them up to dry every day.

The factory produces about 2,000 U.S. and Israeli flags a month in its busiest periods, and more than 1.5 million square feet of flags a year.

Political unrest between the countries came after Iran’s most important general, Qasem Soleimani, was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq two weeks ago.

Following Soleimani’s killing, Iran retaliated with strikes on US targets, bringing Tehran and Washington to an escalating conflict.

For Iranian nationalists, anti-American sentiment has always been central to Iran’s Islamic revolution. Iran’s clerical rulers continue to denounce the United States as the country’s greatest enemy.

Last November, however, many Iranians took to the streets to protest against the country’s top authorities, chanting “our enemy is not the U.S., our enemy is here.”

During protests this month, which erupted after Tehran belatedly admitted shooting down a passenger plane, young demonstrators in Tehran refused to step on the American flag painted on the street.