Alavi School

The Alavi School is a Tehran institution built and funded by the bazaari merchant class. On 1 February 1979, when Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile, the Alavi School complex (together with the adjacent Refah School) became his Tehran headquarters and the operational nerve centre of the revolution. Khomeini resided at the Alavi School while the nearby Refah School was used for press operations and the Islamic Revolutionary Court. It was on the rooftop of this complex that the first four revolutionary executions took place on the night of 15–16 February 1979, when Nematollah Nassiri, Mehdi Rahimi, Manouchehr Khosrodad, and Reza Naji were shot by firing squad following summary trials presided over by Sadegh Khalkhali.