The funeral ceremony for former foreign minister, Ebrahim Yazdi, is to be held in Tehran today. He died late Sunday in Izmir, Turkey, where he underwent surgery. On Wednesday, his body was transferred to Iran for burial, ISNA reported. Yazdi was a prominent figure in the anti-Shah protests before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and was one of the advisors of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, when the latter went into exile to Neauphle-le-Chateau in the Parisian suburb in 1978. He became foreign minister in the interim post-revolutionary government of Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan. In a message, President Hassan Rouhani extended his condolences to his family and described him as "one of the pioneers of the fight [against monarchy] in academic circles". He also tweeted, "Dr. Ebrahim Yazdi, who was alongside the Imam in Neauphle-le-Chateau and later years, will be part of the history of the country." Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also sent a message of condolence, commending Yazdi for his struggle before the revolution that toppled the autocratic rule of the Pahlavid monarchy.
