World Leaders Extend Condolence on Passing Away of Expediency Council Chief Hashemi Rafsanjani

Rasa - World leaders and officials extended their condolences to the Iranian nation and government on the occasion of the death of Head of Iran's Expediency Council and two-time president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

News ID: 426404

Date: 09 January 2017 - 21:56

RNA - Rafsanjani died at the age of 83 in Tehran on Sunday after he was rushed to Tajreesh Martyres Hospital in Northern Tehran after experiencing a heart failure Sunday afternoon.

Secretary General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a statement said that Hashemi Rafsanjani was an active supporter of the resistance movement.

"He was a big pillar, a supporter, a kind father and a staunch defender of the Lebanon Islamic resistance in all stages and difficult conditions over the past 34 years," Nasrallah said.

He extended his condolences to the bereaved family of Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Iranian officials and people.

Meantime, the Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki in a message on Sunday night extended condolences on the demise of late Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Iraqi President Fouad Massoum and Chairman of Iraqi National Coalition Ammar Hakim also in separate messages expressed condolences on demise of former Iranian president.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif on Monday expressed deep grief over the death of the veteran Iranian politician.

"Rafsanjani was an influential figure not only in Iran, but also a symbol of reconciliatory peace efforts at the international level," Nawaz Sharif added.

Meantime, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a message condoled on the sad occasion.

Kuwait's ruling emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Bahrain's Emir Hamad bin Issa Al-e Khalifa in separate messages extended their condolences over Rafsanjani's death.

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan also expressed his condolences over the loss of Rafsanjani and sympathized with his family.

Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon extended a message of condolence to his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani over the demise of Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Further, Palestine’s Islamic Jihad Organization expressed sorrow over the passing away of Iran's former president.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was also among the officials who extended condolences to Iranian government and nation.

Cavusoglu said in a Twitter message he was “deeply saddened” by the demise of Rafsanjani.

"Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani suffered a cardiac arrest at around 18:00 today and was immediately rushed to a Tehran hospital where a team of heart specialists tried hard to resuscitate him for one and a half hours, but unfortunately to no avail," Deputy Health Minister Mohammad Haji Aghajani said in the evening.

"He died at 19:30 this afternoon," the deputy minister declared.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani - who rushed to the hospital after hearing the news - Experts Assembly, Judiciary Chief Sadeq Amoli Larijani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Guardian Council, Supreme National Security Council, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and a wide range of other Iranian officials have all rushed to express condolences on Hashemi Rafsanjani's death.

The body of the influential politician and official who had served in a range of top posts ever since the Islamic Revolution was returned to his home in the vicinity of Hosseiniyeh Jamaran - the home to the Late Founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini - in Shemiran in Northern Tehran.

His body was later transferred to Hosseiniyeh Jamaran, where a host of Iranian officials are present to show their respect for the veteran politician.

The Iranian government has declared three days of mourning. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will be given two funeral processions, one in Tehran on Tuesday and a second one in Qom. The heavyweight politician will be laid to rest at the holy shrine of Hazrat Ma'soumeh, the sister of Shiite Muslims' 8th Imam, in the city of Qom.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani or Hashemi Bahramani was born in Southern Iran on 25 August, 1934 and was an influential Iranian politician and writer, who was the fourth president of Iran.

He was Iran's Parliament Speaker in the 1980s and the country's president for two terms from 1989 to 1997.

Hashemi Rafsanjani also served as chairman of Iran's Experts Assembly that is tasked with choosing the country's Leader.

He was also head of Iran's Expediency Council ever since 1987.

Hashemi Rafsanjani married Effat Marashi, a housewife, in 1958. The couple have three sons and two daughters. His second son, Mehdi who went on trial and was convicted to 10 years of imprisonment for corruption charges, was released from prison in the evening to attend his father's funeral ceremony.

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