AhlulBayt News Agency

source : IRNA, ABNA
Tuesday

10 January 2017

7:12:26 AM
803992

Algerian President: Rafsanjani played great role in Islamic Ummah solidarity

The Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika expressed condolences over the demise of Iran’s Expediency Council chief Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - In a message to his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Monday, he said the late Ayatollah played a crucial role in enhancing solidarity within the Islamic Ummah.

He said history will stand witness to the bold and distinguished part he played in elevating the Islamic solidarity.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani was admitted to Shohada Hospital in northern Tehran on Sunday after suffering a heart attack. He passed away later in the day. He was 82. 

Iran is observing three days of national mourning in honor of Ayatollah Rafsanjani.

On Monday, a mourning ceremony was held at Jamaran Mosque in Tehran. President Rouhani along with other senior officials attended the funeral. 

Rafsanjani helped establish the Combatant Clergy Association in 1977, which proved fatefully instrumental in the victory of the Islamic Revolution two years later. 

He became Iran’s first Speaker of Parliament after the Revolution, serving until 1989. 

Then, he was elected president, in which position he functioned until 1997. 

He was also the chairman of the Expediency Council, a position he kept until his departure.

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