TEHRAN – Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage visited the Sadabad Cultural and Historical Complex in northern Tehran on Thursday to assess the damage caused by recent airstrikes.
Did Seyed Reza Salehi-Amiri inspect the affected areas including the Green Palace? Melat Palace, Omidvar Brothers Museum? Mr Mair reported that he had visited the Royal Costume Museum as part of an on-the-ground assessment of the impact of the attack.
Preliminary assessments indicate that parts of the complex suffered “significant damage” to infrastructure, buildings and some museum materials. Officials said the scale of the damage would require a detailed technical investigation and recovery plan.
Salehi Amiri said the protection of cultural heritage is essential to national identity and security, according to the report.
“Protecting these civilizational assets is part of a broader strategy to maintain national unity and protect the historical memory of the Iranian people,” he said during his visit.
Occupying approximately 110 hectares of forested mountainside north of Tehran, the Sadabad complex stands as one of the largest royal estates in Iran. It was first developed in the 19th century and served as a summer residence for the Qajar monarchs, who built the first structures on the site. The complex became the residence of Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, undergoing major expansion in the 1920s and remaining in that role until his exile in 1941. His son, Mohammad Reza Shah, later occupied Sadabad in the 1970s and used it as one of the main royal compounds during the last years of the monarchy.
Sadabad also briefly appeared in modern political history. In 1978, US President Jimmy Carter stayed at the palace during a visit to Tehran aimed at demonstrating US support for the Pahlavi government. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the complex was nationalized and turned into a public museum.
Sadabad is managed by Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts. Much of the grounds have been converted into a museum, displaying a wide range of royal possessions, including furniture, crockery, carpets, miniature paintings and vintage automobiles. However, many of the buildings are still used by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the rest of the site welcomes visitors to explore its gardens, palaces, and collections.
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