Ayatollah Khamenei Leads Ritual Prayers at Ex-President’s Funeral
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei performed the ritual ‘prayer for the deceased’ (Salat al-Mayyit) in the funeral of former Iranian president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Tuesday.
A huge crowd of Iranians attended the funeral of prominent cleric, former president, and chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Rafsanjani in the University of Tehran.
Nearly all top Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani attended the event.
A funeral procession is being held in the streets of Tehran after the prayers. Ayatollah Rafsanjani will be then laid to rest at the mausoleum of late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini south of Tehran.
The iconic cleric died at the age of 82 on Sunday. The cabinet has declared three days of national mourning and announced Tuesday as a public holiday.
Five days of mourning are observed in the southern province of Kerman, where Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s hometown of Rafsanjan is located.
Ayatollah Rafsanjani was an influential figure in a campaign led by Imam Khomeini that resulted in the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The deceased became president for two terms and was the chairman of the Expediency Council for some 20 years.
In a message of condolence, Ayatollah Khamenei praised the deceased as an “old friend, comrade and companion during the time of Islamic struggles, and close colleague in long years during the period of the Islamic Republic.”
“The loss of a comrade and companion, the background of cooperation and the beginning of empathy and collaboration with whom dates back to 59 years ago, is hard and heart-rending,” the Leader has announced.