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| Rouhani (L) and Rafsanjani (R) |
Rafsanjani, a dominant figure in the country’s politics since the 1980s,
has died at the age of 82.
Mr Rafsanjani, president from 1989 to 1997, suffered a heart attack according to the BBC.
He played a pivotal role in the 1979 revolution but later in life became a counterpoint to hardline conservatives.
Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei hailed a “companion of struggle” despite their
differences, saying that the loss was “difficult and overwhelming”.
“The
different opinions and interpretations at time in this long period
could never entirely break up the friendship” between us, Ayatollah
Khamenei said.
There will be three days of national mourning.
Mr
Rafsanjani was admitted to the Shohadaa Hospital in Tehran on Sunday,
where doctors tried unsuccessfully for an hour to save him, media said.
A
TV broadcaster broke into programmes to bring the news, saying Mr
Rafsanjani “after a life full of restless efforts in the path of Islam
and revolution, had departed for lofty heaven”.
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