Commercial Complex Linked to IRGC Blocks Tehran Metro Route

The Deputy of Transportation for Tehran Municipality announced that granting a permit for the six-story parking garage of the commercial complex "Atlas Mall" in northeastern Tehran, and the sinking of the building's foundations into the ground where a metro tunnel was supposed to be constructed, has obstructed the extension of Metro Line 3 towards Niavaran. The "Atlas Mall" complex is owned by Ansar Bank, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to Mohsen Pour-Seyed-Aghaei, this line is currently halted at the Nobonyad station due to the lack of an alternative route. The Deputy Mayor believes that financial interests related to the construction have led to this building being erected in the path of the approved metro plans, making it impossible to further develop the metro in this area. Meanwhile, this land was supposed to serve as parking for Niavaran to alleviate the parking shortage in the region. Mohsen Pour-Seyed-Aghaei stated in an interview with Iskan News that "despite all efforts," no alternative route for the northern Tehran metro has been found. The "Atlas Mall" project in District 1 of Tehran has been one of the most controversial projects of this group in recent years. This project, with commercial and administrative use, has 19 floors, including eight administrative floors, four commercial floors, one restaurant floor, and six floors of parking. This project was also brought up during the presidential election debates last year. Additionally, the construction of this tower near the Niavaran Palace Museum has limited the view of the palace, leading to protests from some experts and city council members. Meanwhile, Mohammad Shakarchi-Zadeh, Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development, had previously warned that the deep excavation of this tower has caused cracks in the southern part of the Niavaran Palace. However, Saeed Mohammad, the CEO of the company executing this project, denied these claims. Saeed Mohammad has recently been appointed as the new commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters of the IRGC. During the mayoralty of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, many municipal projects were assigned to the IRGC, and in exchange for part of their construction costs, land and density were allocated to this organization. Meanwhile, in July 2014, several council members protested to Mr. Qalibaf regarding a "20 trillion tomans memorandum with the IRGC." In 2014, a memorandum was signed between the Tehran Municipality and "Yas Holding" representing the IRGC's Cooperative Foundation for the implementation of construction projects worth 20 trillion tomans. On July 17, Mohsen Hashemi, the Chairman of the Tehran City Council, announced that a financial corruption case involving "Yas Holding," a company contracted with the Tehran Municipality, is being pursued by the order of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic by Hossein Baqeri, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. He stated that in this case, five individuals, including Ebrahim Sharifi, the deputy of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the former mayor of Tehran, were arrested, and some of them have been released on bail. According to Mr. Hashemi, the municipality considers "Yas Holding" to have a debt of about 4.5 trillion tomans, but this company does not accept this debt amount.