At a meeting of mayors of Iran’s major cities held on Thursday in Isfahan, Haj-Rasuliha, whose face was red with anger, said, “The wicked dailies have assembled photos of Naqsh-e Jahan Square and Jahan-Nama Tower and have given officials wrong information.
“Isfahan has an owner and its owner is the City Council, which has been selected by the people. As long as there is the city council, we will not let the vice president interfere in Isfahan’s affairs, and we will only obey the court ruling.”
Haj-Rasuliha was furious and his hands were shaking with anger.
“Foolish friends and our foreign enemies have united to ruin the reputation of the city,” he added.
“The newspapers are ruining the reputation of the Isfahan Municipality and the City Council to achieve their goals. We did not build the tower, so we will not destroy it either. UNESCO is claiming that the monument will probably be added to the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger, while the square and the tower are not related to each other,” he stated.
Everyone should make their own judgment about the Isfahan City Council chairman’s statements. This type of language and insulting the daily newspapers is not what is expected from a government official.
Indeed, it seems that Haj-Rasuliha’s tirade marks the beginning of a new phase in the controversy.
Many high-ranking officials, including the president and the judiciary chief, have asked all parties involved to make efforts to amicably resolve the Jahan-Nama problem.
During his most recent visit to Isfahan, President Mohammad Khatami asked relevant officials to make a final decision on modifying the tower, which has spoiled the horizontal view of the historical site of Naqsh-e Jahan Square.
The president said that the Isfahan Municipality should promptly settle the issue, adding that he was sure that Isfahanis and Isfahan officials would never ruin the reputation of their city over nothing.
RM/HG
END
MNA
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