A memorial ceremony for the eminent cleric Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was hosted by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Wednesday.
The 82-year-old statesman with over decades of service for the glory of the Islamic Republic passed away following a heart attack on Sunday.
The shock demise of the ayatollah, who was still holding public office, captured headlines in many international news outlets and led to an outpouring of grief and messages of condolences both from home and abroad.
Hundreds of thousands of mournful Iranians from different walks of life flooded central Tehran to bid farewell to the seasoned politician, while his casket was taken in a procession to the resting place.
On Tuesday, funeral prayers at the University of Tehran were led by the Leader who described the iconic figure on Sunday as an “old friend and companion during the struggles of the Islamic revolutionary movement.”
Ayatollah Rafsanjani was laid to rest in the mausoleum south of Tehran by his revered guide, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic.
The highly influential politician fought the rule of US-backed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and suffered hardship and torture in his notorious prisons for years.
Over the past four decades after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Rafsanjani served as Tehran’s Friday prayers leader (1982-2009), interior minister (1979-80), parliament speaker (1980-89), president (1989-97) and chairman of the Assembly of Experts (2007-11).
After the end of his presidency, the prominent politician was appointed as chairman of the Expediency Council, a post he held until his passing.
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