Photographs have emerged in recent days showing the deterioration of a once renowned hospital in Iran that was founded and named after Christian missionaries.

The “Missionary Hospital” in Kerman, southeastern Iran, which was built in the early 1900s, has not been used since shortly after the Second World War, but was recognised as a national monument at the turn of the millennium. 

However, the recent photographs make clear that the hospital, which was one of the first modern medical centres in southeastern Iran, is quickly deteriorating, with reports suggesting it has also become a dwelling place for rough sleepers and addicts.

According to one report, the hospital, which provided services such as surgery, childbirth, and cures for infectious diseases, offered free treatment for patients on Fridays – a day off in Iran – and was the very first institution in Kerman to offer pharmaceutical medicines.

The hospital consisted of separate sections for men and women, a church, places for doctors and nurses to stay, and a treatment centre for outpatients.

Another article suggested that part of the hospital had been deliberately destroyed, while a local official called for its restoration.

The hospital was founded by and still bears the initials of the Church Missionary Society (CMS), which first sent missionaries to Iran in the late 1800s. 

By the end of the 19th century, missionaries had settled in the cities of Isfahan, Shiraz, Yazd and Kerman, establishing new hospitals, schools and institutions for the blind and the disabled.

However, following the revolution of 1979, many of these institutions were confiscated or forced to close.

Other Christian buildings have been demolished in recent years, such as the Adventist Church in Tehran – a once famous landmark with a giant cross – and the nationally registered Christian hospital in Kermanshah, which was destroyed without permission by its owner last year in the midst of a long-running legal dispute.