A protester briefly replaced the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran on its London embassy with a former flag, flown before 1979, during a demonstration Saturday, witnesses told AFP.

A video posted to social media showed a man on the balcony of the embassy, near Hyde Park, replace the country's current flag with one used during the rule of the ousted shah to cheers from hundreds of demonstrators below.

The flag -- tri-coloured, with a lion and sun, surrounded by a wreath and crown -- was a ceremonial one used in Iran before the Islamic revolution.

It stayed in place for........

© Al Monitor