The Plasco building was an iconic presence on Tehran’s skyline, one of the first to rise against the backdrop of the snowcapped Mount Damavand. Opened in 1962, it was the first privately owned tower to be built during the era of the U.S.-backed shah, when oil money fueled the capital’s rapid development.
The
tower, the tallest in Tehran at the time and just north of the
sprawling Grand Bazaar, got its name from the plastics manufacturing
company owned by its builder, Iranian Jewish businessman Habib
Elghanian.
After the 1979 Islamic
Revolution that overthrew the shah, Iran’s new clerical rulers had
Elghanian tried on charges that included spying for Israel. He was
executed by firing squad — an outcome that prompted many of the
remaining members of the country’s longstanding Jewish community to
flee.
The state-controlled Islamic
Revolution Mostazafan Foundation took ownership of the building. The
foundation, which has ties to the powerful paramilitary Revolutionary
Guard, made no immediate statement about the collapse.
The fire was the worst in Tehran since a 2005 blaze at a historic mosque killed 59 worshippers and injured nearly 200 others.
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