The Milad Tower was part of the Shahestan Pahlavi project, a vast development for a new government and commercial center for Tehran, that was designed in the 1970s but never materialized, except for the tower. After an international competition, the project was awarded to the Llewely Davies Company, and construction was inaugurated on August 19, 1975, with Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the Mayor of Tehran Dr. G. R. Nickpay burying a commemorative gold plaque. There is also another background of building this tower since the construction of the tower started after the 1979 revolution. The new government of Iran wanted to create a new symbol for Tehran to replace the Azadi Tower which was a symbol of Pahlavi’s reign.

The construction of the tower commenced in 1997. Upon completion of its construction in the mid-2000s, the Milad Tower was considered the fourth-tallest freestanding telecommunication tower in the world. While the tower opened in 2007, numerous conflicts on the history of the tower still prevail, partly because sections of the tower were open to visitors once the elevators started operating during construction and the tower was still far from finished.

The design of the project was headed by Iranian architect Mohammad Reza Hafezi. The general contractor was the company of Boland Payeh, and the main client and investor was the company of Yadman Sazeh, a representative of the Municipality of Tehran.