" Iran is holding an hours-long funeral ceremony for the late Iranian president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, following his death over the weekend at the age of 82. Thousands of Tehran residents and government officials have gathered on the Tehran University campus, where Rafsanjani's casket is on display. Authorities have declared Tuesday a public holiday so Iranians can commemorate Rafsanjani.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The New Zealand Herald. </s> A man weeps during a mourning ceremony for former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died on Sunday after suffering a heart attack, at the Jamaran mosque in north Tehran, Iran, Monday, Jan. 9, 2017.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran is holding an hours-long funeral ceremony for the late Iranian president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, following his death over the weekend at the age of 82.

Thousands of Tehran residents and government officials have gathered on the Tehran University campus, where Rafsanjani's casket is on display. Authorities have declared Tuesday a public holiday so Iranians can commemorate Rafsanjani.

 

 Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will hold prayers by Rafsanjani's casket.

Rafsanjani will be buried in mausoleum of the late leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Rafsanjani, a close aide to both Khomeini and Khamenei, served as president from 1989 to 1997. He was a major supporter of moderate President Hassan Rouhani and served as a go-between for reformers seeking outreach to the world and hard-liners. </s> Iranians gather for funeral of former leader Rafsanjani

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran is holding an hours-long funeral ceremony for the late Iranian president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, following his death over the weekend at the age of 82.

Thousands of Tehran residents and government officials have gathered on the Tehran University campus, where Rafsanjani's casket is on display. Authorities have declared Tuesday a public holiday so Iranians can commemorate Rafsanjani.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is later to hold prayers by Rafsanjani's casket.

A man weeps during a mourning ceremony for former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died on Sunday after suffering a heart attack, at the Jamaran mosque in north Tehran, Iran, Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. Mourners from all walks of life in Iran ¿ from the country's president to passers-by on the street ¿ paid their respects Monday to the late Iranian leader Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Rafsanjani will be buried in mausoleum of the late leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Rafsanjani, a close aide to both Khomeini and Khamenei, served as president from 1989 to 1997. He was a major supporter of moderate President Hassan Rouhani and served as a go-between for reformers seeking outreach to the world and hard-liners.

Front pages of the Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, edition of Iranian newspapers, published with pictures of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died on Sunday after suffering a heart attack. Newspapers in Iran published front-page photographs of Rafsanjani, while state television aired archival clips of his comments and speeches. Mourners from all walks of life in Iran - from the country's president to passers-by on the street - paid their respects to him. The country is observing three days of mourning. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) </s> Story highlights Rafsanjani died Sunday at the age of 82

He will be buried in Khomeini's crypt

Tehran (CNN) Hundreds of thousands of Iranians gathered in and around Tehran University Tuesday for the funeral of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

State television showed crowds pouring onto the streets around the campus where the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, led prayers for Rafsanjani despite the differences between the two men.

President Hassan Rouhani, parliament speaker Ali Larijani and his brother, judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, joined the prayers.

Rafsanjani died Sunday at the age of 82 after suffering a heart attack.

Three days of official mourning began on Monday.

JUST WATCHED Mohsen Milani, professor of politics at the University of South Florida, talks about Rafsanjani's legacy. Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Mohsen Milani, professor of politics at the University of South Florida, talks about Rafsanjani's legacy. 04:31

Read More </s> Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died on Sunday aged 82 after suffering a heart attack, according to state media.

Rafsanjani was a key figure in the foundation of the Islamic republic in 1979, and served as president from 1989 to 1997.

He was taken to the Shohada hospital, in northern Tehran, earlier on Sunday with heart problems, the ISNA and Fars news agencies reported.

"Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was transferred to hospital after a heart attack," said Reza Soleimani, a speaker of the Expediency Council, Iran's main political arbitration body which Rafsanjani chaired.

"Despite the efforts of the doctors he died," he said, quoted by state broadcaster IRIB.

READ MORE: Dear Iran

Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran, said Rafsanjani's death was described as a "huge loss" by Iranian officials.

"His death couldn't come at a worse time for the country because there are disputes between the current government and the judiciary and Rafsanjani was seen as a mediator," she said.

"He would advise on how to deal with such situations in the country. With the news of his death many people are in absolute shock."

Following the announcement of Rafsanjani's death, a crowd gathered outside the hospital in Tehran's Tajrish neighbourhood where the former president had been taken.

'Difficult and overwhelming'

Rafsanjani was born on August 25, 1934, in the village of Nough, in southern Iran, into a wealthy family.

He studied theology in the holy city of Qom before entering politics in 1963 after the shah's police arrested the founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

A confidant of Khomeini, Rafsanjani was the speaker of parliament for two consecutive terms until Khomeini's death in 1989.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, paid tribute to Rafsanjani as a "companion of struggle" despite differences between them.

"The loss of my companion of struggle, whose cooperation with me dated back 59 years, is difficult and overwhelming," Khamenei said in a statement quoted by the state broadcaster's website.

"The different opinions and interpretations at time in this long period could never entirely break up the friendship" between us, he added.

READ MORE: Iran 37 years later - Any hope for reforms?

Rafsanjani was an influential figure in Iran, and headed the Expediency Council, a body which is intended to resolve disputes between the parliament and the Guardian Council.

He was also a member of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that selects the supreme leader, Iran's most powerful figure.

Rafsanjani has been described as "a pillar of the Islamic revolution".

His pragmatic policies, economic liberalisation, better relations with the West and empowering Iran's elected bodies, appealed to many Iranians but was despised by hardliners.

His death is a big blow to moderates and reformists, depriving them of their most influential supporter in the Islamic establishment.

He is survived by his wife and five children. </s> TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran is holding an hours-long funeral ceremony for the late Iranian president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, following his death over the weekend at the age of 82.

Thousands of Tehran residents and government officials have gathered on the Tehran University campus, where Rafsanjani’s casket is on display. Authorities have declared Tuesday a public holiday so Iranians can commemorate Rafsanjani.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is later to hold prayers by Rafsanjani’s casket.

Rafsanjani will be buried in mausoleum of the late leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Rafsanjani, a close aide to both Khomeini and Khamenei, served as president from 1989 to 1997. He was a major supporter of moderate President Hassan Rouhani and served as a go-between for reformers seeking outreach to the world and hard-liners. </s> DUBAI (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Iranians massed in central Tehran on Tuesday for the funeral of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, an influential figurehead of the Islamic Republic whose pragmatism led to a rift with Iran’s supreme leader.

Rafsanjani, who died on Sunday aged 82, was buried next to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979 who founded its system of theocratic rule.

Rafsanjani’s policies of economic liberalisation and better relations with the West attracted fierce supporters and equally fierce critics during his life.

While many of his opponents turned out to honour him, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stressed their close bond, what was intended by the state as a show of unity was clouded by the chants of thousands opposition supporters, as well as the absence of reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami.

An eyewitness told Reuters on the phone from Tehran: “Some were chanting slogans asking for political prisoners to be released, some hardliners were shouting ‘Death to America!’. But they didn’t clash. Everyone was respectful.”

Some of the chants called for the release of former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and of Mehdi Karoubi, a cleric and former speaker of parliament who lost the disputed 2009 presidential election to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Both men refused to accept the results of that election and were placed under house arrest while Rafsanjani, who had backed them, was politically isolated along with his family.

KHATAMI ABSENT

Two separate sources said Hashemi’s daughter Faezeh, jailed for six months in 2012 on charges of anti-government propaganda, had told people at the funeral that Khatami had been banned from attending. On state television’s live coverage, the opposition chants were drowned out by solemn music.

As a leading power-broker, Rafsanjani helped Khamenei to secure Iran’s most powerful position, that of supreme leader, after Khomeini’s death in 1989, and won election as president himself a few months later.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani touch the coffin of former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani during his funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran January 10, 2017. Leader.ir/Handout via REUTERS

However, their friendship gradually turned into rivalry as Rafsanjani, who continued to wield enormous influence even after his eight years as president ended, sided with reformists who promoted greater freedom, while Khamenei interpreted the values of the Islamic Republic much more conservatively.

In his condolence message, Khamenei said political differences had never been able to “entirely break up” their nearly 60 years of friendship.

Streets were filled overnight with billboards that showed a picture of the two men smiling and chatting as close friends.

“No one will be like Hashemi for me,” the billboards quoted Khamenei as saying, using Rafsanjani’s first family name.

KHAMENEI’S PRAYER

It was Khamenei who said the final prayer over Rafsanjani’s body in the University of Tehran courtyard where the late president delivered many of his sermons during Friday prayers.

Politicians, military commanders and religious figures from all camps stood behind him.

President Hassan Rouhani, the head of parliament, the head of the judiciary and senior Khamenei advisers stood in the first line at the service, while cabinet ministers and the deceased leader’s relatives filled the rows behind them.

Rafsanjani’s body, sealed in a metal coffin with his white turban on top, was then brought in procession down Revolution Street in central Tehran, where hundreds of thousands of people came out in cold winter weather to pay tribute.

Among those attending were Revolutionary Guards Commander Qassem Soleimani, leading Iranian Sunni cleric Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi, several of Khomeini’s grandsons and even a number of Iranian movie stars.

Slideshow (7 Images)

Rafsanjani’s death is a blow to Rouhani, whom he had backed in the 2013 presidential election and who now faces re-election having resolved Iran’s long nuclear standoff with the West but shown little of the economic payoff that he had promised.

Rouhani’s deputy chief of staff, Hamid Aboutalebi, tweeted: “The glorious presence of people of Tehran in the funeral and their tearful farewell show that they will never forget Rafsanjani’s moderate thoughts and his allies.”

Rafsanjani was a member of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that selects the supreme leader. His absence from that debate, whenever it happens, means the chances of a pragmatist succeeding Khamenei are reduced. </s> Mourners pay respects to former Iranian leader Rafsanjani

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Mourners are paying respect to former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as Iran observes three days of mourning following his death.

President Hassan Rouhani and his administration on Monday appeared at a mosque in northern Tehran, where Rafsanjani's body was brought.

Residents in the Iranian capital also expressed their grief at the loss of Rafsanjani, who suffered a heart attack on Sunday and died at the age of 82.

CAPTION CORRECTS THE LOCATION OF THE CHILDREN - Hassan Khomeini, center, grandson of Iran's late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, mourns over the coffin of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, as Rafsanjani's son Mahdi, second left, comforts his sister Fatemeh, at the Jamaran mosque in northern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. Rafsanjani died Sunday after a decades-long career in the ruling elite, where his moderate views were not always welcome but his cunning guided him through revolution, war and the country's turbulent politics. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Maziar Rezaei, a real estate agent, told The Associated Press: "I don't know who is going to fill his place. He kept Iran safe from hard-liners for so long."

Zahra Qorbani, a tailor, says she is worried about her children's future. She described the late leader as a "man who always tried to fix Iran's relations with neighbors and the world."

Hassan Khomeini, center, grandson of Iran's late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, mourns over the coffin of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani at the Jamaran mosque in northern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. Rafsanjani died Sunday after a decades-long career in the ruling elite, where his moderate views were not always welcome but his cunning guided him through revolution, war and the country's turbulent politics. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Family members, relatives, and officials mourn while surrounding the coffin of Iran's former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, top left, at the Jamaran mosque in northern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. Rafsanjani died Sunday after a decades-long career in the ruling elite, where his moderate views were not always welcome but his cunning guided him through revolution, war and the country's turbulent politics. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE -- In this May 11, 2013 file photo, former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, waves to journalists, as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election, with his daughter Fatemeh, second right, at the interior ministry, in Tehran, Iran. Iranian state media said Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017 that Rafsanjani has died at age 82 after having been hospitalized because of a heart condition. Rafsanjani, who served as president from 1989 to 1997, was a leading politician who often played kingmaker in the country's turbulent politics. He supported President Hassan Rouhani. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

FILE -- In this Aug. 4, 2013 file photo, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani., right, and former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, wave, as they arrive for Rouhani's swearing-in ceremony at the parliament, in Tehran, Iran. Iranian state media said Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017 that Rafsanjani has died at age 82 after having been hospitalized because of a heart condition. Rafsanjani, who served as president from 1989 to 1997, was a leading politician who often played kingmaker in the country's turbulent politics. He supported President Rouhani. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File) </s> Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran's fourth president and a leading moderate voice in the country, has died at the age of 82, according to Iranian state media. He is believed to have suffered a heart attack.

For decades, the Shiite Muslim politician played an outsize role in Iranian politics. An aide to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the country's 1979 revolution, Rafsanjani went on to lead Iran just a decade later.

He served as Iran's president from 1989 to 1997, and has been credited with the country's recovery from a long war with neighboring Iraq in the '80s.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports that Rafsanjani enjoyed a kind of renaissance as an influential reformer late in his political career.



"Rafsanjani tried to run for president again in 2005, but was defeated by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He made another attempt in 2013, but in a controversial move, Iran's guardian council disqualified him. "Voters instead chose the candidate most aligned with Rafsanjani's pragmatic views, Hassan Rouhani. Many Iranians saw Rafsanjani as a mentor to Rouhani, and his influence rose."



Rafsanjani's death leaves President Rouhani without his "political soul mate" — in the words of The Washington Post — and leaves other moderates in the country without one of their leading lights.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President of Iran, dies at the age of 82.