Historical Tehran House Razed

A historical house near Tehran's Hassanabad Square has been demolished despite pleas by local cultural heritage officials urging the owner not to raze the structure. The house belonged to Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi, Iran's first lieutenant general who was one of the key figures in staging Reza Pahlavi's coup d'etat against Qajar rulers on February 22, 1921, which ended the 136-year reign of the dynasty.

Travel news website Safarnevis reported on Saturday that the house had been destroyed, claiming that cultural heritage and city officials as well as the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee (the previous owner of the house) knew what was going to happen. Rajabali Khosroabadi, the head of Tehran Province's office of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, told IRNA that the house had historical value and authorities were in the process of inscribing it on the National Heritage List.

"The owner had been informed but they did not care," he said. "We've begun legal proceedings and filed a complaint … They will either have to pay a hefty fine or rebuild exactly the way it was—brick by brick." Unsurprisingly, Tehran Municipality officials denied having knowledge of the demolition and said they had not issued a permit to demolish the house.

"Any damage to the structure has been done without our knowledge and approval," Mohammad Shahrabadi, deputy for urban development and architecture at Tehran Municipality's District 12, told ISNA. IKRC tendered the 7,000-square-meter property last year, selling it for 240 billion rials ($6.3 million). The identity of the current owner has not been made public. lieutenant general Amir-Ahmadi (1884-1974) served as the minister of war for eight terms and interior minister for two terms. He also served as a senator for 16 years.