The compound, in north Tehran's up-market Shemiran district, was presented to Britain at the height of its imperial might by the Qajar monarchy in the 19th century. It is separate from the sprawling British embassy complex several miles further south. Bordered by high walls and guarded round the clock by Iran's diplomatic police, the grounds are home to the British Council. They also contain a school and a graveyard, where the remains of British soldiers killed in the first and second world wars are buried.
But the hardliners say Britain's ownership was asserted illegally during the reign of Reza Shah in the 1930s.
| Just another way of rattling the chains. Pinch a few sailors, make a few claims, fund a few boomers, that sort of thing ... |
British diplomats have avoided commenting on the controversy. But organisers of the conference on Monday are seeking to end the official silence by inviting Geoffrey Adams, Britain's ambassador to Iran, to attend, along with Iranian experts in Islamic and civil law. A British embassy spokesman said Mr Adams had yet to decide whether to go. The event is being organised under the auspices of the Foundation for the Preservation and Publication of Sacred Defence Works and Values, a state body ultimately controlled by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
| Is the Foundation related to the Committee for the Preservation of Virtue and the Elimination of Vice? |
The Foundation for the Preservation and Publication of Sacred Defence Works and Values houses this:  |
Last month MPs tabled a bill calling on the government to force Britain to return Gholhak and turn it into an anti-colonial museum. Iranian officials have been reported as saying they would be prepared to grant Britain ownership in exchange for Hyde Park in London.
The row is symbolic of the
| in the newsroom and executive offices of the Guardian, |
A British embassy spokesman said Iran had not mounted an official challenge to Britain's ownership of the gardens. "As far as we're concerned, there is no question about their ownership," he said. "Our lawyers have looked up all the proper legal documents and found no problem at all," he said.