TEHRAN – An Iranian cultural heritage official has called for the heaviest punishment for those who demolished Na’el historic house in Isfahan, central Iran, late on Thursday.

Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization Deputy Director Mohammad-Hassan Talebian on Sunday demanded the maximum penalty for the perpetrators of the crime, adding the historic house should be precisely reconstructed based on original specs, CHTN reported.

Some unconfirmed reports say that the house was demolished in order to broaden its opposing pathway.

“The historic Na’el house is one of the most valuable monuments of the Safavid era (1501–1736) in Isfahan, which unfortunately was destroyed on Thursday night.”

Speaking on refurbishing plans that are atop agenda, Talebian said: “Presently, a refurbishment workshop has been formed to rebuild the house.”

In the first stage, reconstruction of the fences and land restoration will be taken into account, and then [rebuilding] plans will be drawn up on the basis of existing documents, he explained.

“Simultaneously, the legal and judicial follow-ups have been commenced to chase the perpetrators,” the official added.

The Na’el house was inscribed on the National Cultural Heritage list in 1933.

Historic houses under threat

Over the past couple of years several historic houses or mansions were hurt or demolished illegally under allegations such as “being too old to be safe” or “being non-profitable” or so on. It may be deemed as an ongoing struggle between modernization and traditions.

Back in April, historic Sharifi Mansion and Bibi Mahak were brought down to earth illegally in Lar, a city in southern Fars Province.

In August, another historic house was razed near Tehran’s Hassanabad Square. It belonged to Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi, Iran’s first lieutenant general who was a key figure in staging Reza Pahlavi’s coup d’etat against Qajar rulers on February 22, 1921, which put an end to the 136-year reign of the dynasty.

In July 2016, news broke that the historic house of Queen Touran, the third wife of Reza Pahlavi, was partially destroyed overnight despite opposition from the cultural heritage body.

Another case refers to Villa Namazee in Tehran’s affluent Niavaran neighborhood. The iconic 1960s building was set to be demolished in December 2016 on the altar of erecting a 20-floor hotel.

The Photo above depicts ruins of Na’el historic house in Isfahan, which was illicitly brought down to earth late on November 23, 2017.