A Professional Official: The Demolition of Buildings in 'Khalazir' Occurred Without the Presence of Supervising Engineers

The head of the Tehran Engineering System Organization announced that the recent 'fatal' demolition of unauthorized buildings in the 'Khalazir' area was carried out without inviting the Engineering System for supervision. Ali Karimi Anzeh stated that 'all demolitions of buildings in Tehran are done unsafely' in an interview with the 'Tasnim' news agency, saying, 'The buildings that were being constructed unsafely were demolished unsafely, leading to this disaster and the death of several individuals.' He added that when 'specialized institutions' like the Engineering System Organization are 'excluded' from the design, supervision, and execution processes for any reason, some citizens proceed with construction without obtaining municipal permits and without supervision, resulting in such outcomes. Iranian media reported on Sunday, August 6, that five buildings collapsed simultaneously in southern Tehran during the implementation of a plan called 'Dealing with Unauthorized Constructions,' and stated that several municipal officials and police forces lost their lives as a result of this incident. Ali Karimi Anzeh acknowledged that a similar incident occurred in the 'Metropol Abadan' project, stating that the event in this project was the result of the 'exclusion of engineering system organizations and licensed engineers from supervision and execution.' The 'Metropol' commercial complex in Abadan collapsed on June 2, 2022, due to non-compliance with safety regulations during construction, resulting in at least 43 deaths and 37 injuries, which sparked widespread protests in Khuzestan province and other parts of Iran. The head of the Tehran Engineering System Organization emphasized that the 'exclusion of the engineering system' in construction processes has both human and financial consequences; additionally, it reduces the lifespan of buildings, but the worse outcome is that 'unsafe demolitions exacerbate such incidents.' The increasing disorder in providing public services to citizens, the insecurity of some urban structures, the low or non-standard quality of certain infrastructures, along with weak oversight by responsible authorities, have led to a rise in fatal incidents in recent weeks. Abbas Jahani stated: 'Demolishing a building without evacuating the site is catastrophic and indicative of a lack of planning.' The intensification of disorder in urban management; an explosion in a three-story building in the Javanmard Qassab neighborhood of Tehran. The death toll from the building collapse in Tehran has reached four, with two of the victims being police officers.