Ayatollah Rafsanjani passes away

Chairman of Expediency Council Ayatollah Rafsanjani passes away

Chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has passed away at the age of 82 due to heart condition.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani was admitted to a hospital in northern Tehran on Sunday after having an acute heart attack.

Born on August 25, 1934, the influential Iranian politician and writer was the fourth president of the Islamic Republic, serving from 1989 to 1997.

Rafsanjani was the head of the Assembly of Experts from 2007 to 2011. The influential cleric was elected chairman of the Iranian parliament in 1980 and served until 1989. He assumed office as the Chairman of the Expediency Council in 1989.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attended the hospital where Ayatollah Rafsanjani was hospitalized, undergoing treatment.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani issued a condolence message on his Twitter account soon after Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani’s demise in which he said, “The soul of the great man of the revolution and politics has soared to the sky.”

The government has announced three days of mourning, making Tuesday a public holiday for his funeral in Tehran.