Sabet Pasal Inscribed on Nat’l Heritage List

The architectural masterpiece that is Sabet Pasal, widely referred to as "Iran's Versailles Palace", was inscribed on the National Heritage List on Wednesday.

In a letter on June 21 to the governor of Tehran announcing the inscription of the site, Zahra Ahmadipour, the head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, said the site was registered on the list on June 12, IRNA reported.

This may throw a wrench into a plan to build a five-star hotel in the compound of the site, particularly because Ahmadipour in her letter states: "Any activity that would damage the site or cause it to change identity is illegal and will result in prosecution."

Earlier this month, Rajabali Khosroabadi, the head of Tehran Province's office of ICHHTO, said the site's owner must pledge to leave the main building, gazebo and the pool in the southern part of the compound intact before permits to build a hotel can be issued.

Sabet Pasal Mansion, also known as "Stone Palace", is Tehran's largest historical house located to the north of Africa Boulevard in Elahiyeh neighborhood.

It was built in the second Pahlavi period across an area of over 11,500 square meters, modeled after Petit Trianon Chateau on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles.

It belonged to wealthy Iranian businessman Habibollah Sabet, known as Sabet Pasal, but was seized by Mostazafan Foundation after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It is now owned by Ali Ansari, managing director of Ayandeh Bank.