Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei issued a message to express his condolences over the demise of senior cleric Ayatollah Abbas Vaez-Tabasi.
Vaez-Tabasi, who was a former member of two influential clerical institutions, the Assembly of Experts tasked with appointing the leader and the Guardians Council in charge of vetting electoral candidates and laws, passed away on Friday at the age of 80.
He was hospitalized in the northeastern city of Mashhad one week earlier for respiratory failure that later sent him into a deep coma, IRNA reported. His funeral procession is to be held today in Mashhad, his birthplace.
Other top officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, issued separate messages and offered condolences over the death of the cleric.
Vaez-Tabasi had been detained and jailed several times for his vocal opposition and sermons against the rule of the US-backed Shah, toppled by popular protests leading to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
He was also the head of Astan Quds Razavi, a huge foundation that manages several endowments, companies and institutes associated with the holy shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH), the eighth Imam of Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) Household.
