Lasing has been demonstrated on the2P1/2–2P3/2transition in atomic iodine by optically pumping I2vapor to dissociation with a flashlamp‐pumped tunable dye laser. Lasing at 1.315 &mgr; has been observed for pump wavelengths from 5010 to 4930 A˚. The device holds promise as a rapidly pulsed gain diagnostic for existing or future iodine systems.