Protests Against the Sale of 'Governor's House of Tehran' by 'Imam Command Headquarters'

The head of the Architecture and Urban Planning Commission of Tehran City Council called for a halt to the sale of the 'Governor's House of Tehran' to one of the 'construction violators' by the 'Imam Command Headquarters'. According to Tasnim News Agency, Mohammad Salari, the head of this commission, raised concerns about the sale of this house to the mentioned headquarters during the 272nd public session of the Tehran City Council held on Tuesday, July 15. Mr. Salari stated that the 'Governor's House of Tehran', built during the Qajar era, contains a collection of 'valuable elements and symbols with high historical value'. He added that 'unfortunately', correspondence from the director of the dilapidated fabric department of Tehran Municipality to the Cultural Heritage Organization of Tehran Province to stop the sale of this historical house has been fruitless. Mr. Salari also identified the buyer of this house from the 'Imam Command Headquarters' as one of the well-known builders in Tehran who has committed 'a lot of construction violations'. This member of the Tehran City Council warned about the potential destruction of this house by the mentioned buyer and stated that 'we request, with the cooperation of the media, that the sale of this house be halted'. This historical house is located on Ferdowsi Street within the 'Naseri Wall' area and is attributed to a former custodian of Tehran. Currently, hundreds of historical houses in Tehran and many cities in Iran have been destroyed or are at risk of destruction and looting. One of the reasons for these demolitions is the removal of these houses from the list of historical buildings by the Administrative Justice Court. The Cultural Heritage Organization has repeatedly protested this process and the rulings of the Administrative Justice Court by writing several letters. According to the Guardian Council's ruling in 1983, the registration of historical monuments in Iran that have private ownership is not legally correct, but according to another law passed in 1978, those who destroy historical monuments must be punished. The Amin al-Sultan House or 'Union', which became famous due to the television series 'Daei Jan Napoleon', was among the houses at risk of demolition that the Tehran Municipality purchased in 2015. In March 2014, reports were published indicating that the residential home of Mirza Kashif al-Saltaneh, known as 'the father of tea in Iran', was looted due to the negligence of the Cultural Heritage Organization. In this context, there are protests against the potential demolition of the historical Sabat Pasal house in Tehran. The Tehran Municipality purchased the 'Daei Jan Napoleon' house on Lalehzar Street, a palace reminiscent of the Qajar era. Two individuals involved in the destruction of the plaster statue of Sardar As'ad have been arrested. 'Persepolis is at risk of being removed from the list of World Heritage Sites'.