.jpg "Former culture minister Mohammad Hosseini (4th from left) cuts a ribbon to inaugurate Iran’s National Museum of the Press in Tehran on July 24, 2013. Former deputy culture minister for press affairs Mohammad-Jafar Mohammadzadeh (3rd from left) and a number of his colleagues are also seen in the photo. (ISNA/Mona Hubefekr)")
TEHRAN -- The office of the deputy culture minister for press affairs shut down Iran’s National Museum of the Press five months after its opening, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Saturday.
The decision to close the museum was made due to “a lack of security, improper location, and a lack of important items” for the building, the office announced.
The museum opened in a building in downtown Tehran adjacent to a religious site called the Tomb of Aqa during a ceremony attended by former culture minister Mohammad Hosseini on July 24, 2013.
The establishment of the museum cost over 11 billion rials (over $370,000). The former officials of the office also had agreed to pay a monthly rent of 100 million rials (over $3300) to the owner of the museum building. However, the museum never opened to the public after the official opening ceremony.
According to the new team at the office of the deputy culture minister for press affairs, the former officials of the office had borrowed the items, such as historical documents and printing machines, from the newspapers Ettelaat and Kayhan for the inauguration ceremony.
Ettelaat got their items back one day after the ceremony.
In addition, all the newspapers and magazines that had been put on display at the museum were copies of the genuine editions, which had been reprinted for the opening ceremony. Consequently, none of the exhibited items had any historical significance.
The office plans to reopen the museum in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization in an appropriate location.
MMS/YAW/HG
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