RNA – In his Friday prayer sermon to a large and fervent crowd of believers in Qom’s Qods Prayer Hall, Ayatollah Ali-Reza Arafi offered his condolences on the January 8th passing of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani added that this influential Iranian politician and one of the architects of the Islamic Republic had a long history of struggle and service to his country.
“Iran has lost an individual who suffered great tribulations during the Iran-Iran War and who had an effective presence in the various positions he held. Throughout his life he was close to the late Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei and protected the principle of Wilayat al-Faqih,” he noted.
The head of the Islamic Seminaries of Iran noted that due to Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani’s struggles and hard work on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Iranian people demonstrated their appreciation by attending his funeral and burial ceremony in large numbers and said, “The funeral of Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani represents the gratitude of the people for his services to the country. It also represents the unity and high capacities in the Islamic system as well as the lasting security of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Ayatollah Arafi said that the Islamic Republic faces a world and a region which is filled with chaos and the revolutionary movement in Iran is a sign of the stability of the country and the role of personalities like Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani in the establishment of Iran’s Islamic system of government should be appreciated.
He added, “The source of the greatness of this country is the continuation of the values of the Islamic Revolution, the lofty ideals of the martyrs and the continuation of Imam Khomeini’s line and thought which today, is explained by the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Khamenei] and based upon his ideas and positions and are the keys to the continuation of the Islamic Revolution.”
The member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution said that the entire world knows that the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) violates the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and it’s clear that the first violator of the JCPOA was the American government, which is the same government that outwardly propagated beautiful slogans in regard to the JCPOA.
Ayatollah Arafi stressed that Iran’s officials must stand firm on this issue because if the Americans continue their actions, the world must understand that Iran won’t remain silent in the face of these violations and also must follow the command of the Leader by standing up to the violators.
Qom’s Friday prayer leader offered his congratulations on the continued success of the Islamic Resistance in various fields, especially in Aleppo and Mosul, and expressed hope that with the efforts of the people and governments of Syria and Iraq, the lackeys dependent on the US and Israel will be defeated.
In conclusion, Ayatollah Arafi called for the release of Bahraini Shi’ah cleric Shaykh Isa Qasim and Nigerian Shi’ah cleric Shaykh Ibrahim Zakzaky and said that this issue is the will of the Islamic Seminaries and the Iranian nation and stressed that the governments of Bahrain and Nigeria must end their bottlenecks on the scholars and people of their countries.
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