A local journalist in Abadan had repeatedly raised concerns about the building’s construction, beginning from last year, publishing images that he said showed sagging floors at the first tower. He also alleged corruption in the building permits process. Later Tuesday, the state-run news agency quoted Faramarz Zoghi, a construction expert and adviser to construction engineers league, as saying that “definitely national construction measures were not observed” at the site. Authorities also declared a one-day mourning period Wednesday over the disaster. Abadan became the focus of development by the British beginning in 1909 as they built what became the world’s largest oil refinery at the time.
