One factory in Iran is making money off of protesters who burn American, British, and Israeli flags and is pumping out thousands of the flammable banners per year.
When tensions between the United States and Iran increase, Diba Parcham flag factory turns a profit. The factory produces about 2,000 American and Israeli flags during busy months, most of which end up as ash, according to Reuters.
Ghasem Ghanjani owns the factory, which is located in the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s hometown of Khomein. Ghanjani, whose factory produces more than 1.5 million square feet of flags per year, said that he held no animus toward the American people but said the flag burning was a way to express anger toward American leaders.
“We have no problem with the American and British people. We have [a] problem with their governors. We have [a] problem with their presidents, with the wrong policy they have,” he said. “If people burn the flags of these countries at different rallies, it is only to show their protest.”
Tensions between Iran and the West have risen dramatically since the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. citizens and was a key target in the battle against Iran and its proxies.
In retaliation for Soleimani’s death, Iran lobbed more than a dozen ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops. Right after the attacks, Iran mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people on board.
The incident reignited protests across Iran, but instead of burning American flags, the Iranian demonstrators were burning pictures of Soleimani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
