Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage said that a judicial complaint has been filed three days after the release of a controversial video showing the destruction of a famous historic site known as the “Russian Caravanserai” in Sabzevar.

Reza Salehi Amiri, in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) news agency, emphasized the “restoration of this site in its former form.”

The destruction of part of the “Russian Caravanserai” in Sabzevar prompted many reactions on social media and among cultural and artistic activists.

According to Mojtaba Kavian, the head of Cultural Heritage in Sabzevar, the site had been identified on the approved maps as a valuable work and efforts had also been made to register it as a national heritage site; however, the municipality had issued a “demolition warning letter.” Mr. Kavian said that during the reign of Reza Shah, the “Russian Caravanserai” had been a gendarmerie.