Semnan Province’s largest museum in terms of collection is in danger of being closed down by the municipality for “unpaid rent.”
Shahroud Municipality has reportedly acquired a court order allowing it to take back the building that houses the Shahroud Museum, according to Soroush Hashemi, the provincial director of museum affairs.
“We’re going to move the museum’s entire collection to Semnan Museum,” he was quoted as saying by ISNA.
With around 1,000 historical artifacts, Shahroud Museum is Semnan’s largest and most valuable museum.
According to Hamidreza Hassani, head of the provincial office of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, the municipality’s claim that ICHHTO owes it money is baseless.
“In 1987, the municipality and the provincial ICHHTO signed a memorandum of understanding which tasked the latter with the renovation of the building (which houses the museum) and turning it into a museum,” he said.
Hassani stressed that “nowhere in the agreement does it say we must pay rent.” Nonetheless, the municipality lodged a complaint against ICHHTO and has now received a court order to evict the museum for “rent arrears.”
