TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Wednesday hosted a mourning ceremony for Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who was passed away on Sunday from a heart attack.
Ayatollah Khamenei, hailed as the Leader’s "longtime companion, fellow fighter on the path of Islamic Revolution, and close colleague following the establishment of the Islamic Republic,” was laid to rest at Imam Khomeini’s mausoleum in southern Tehran following a large funeral procession on Tuesday.
The Wednesday ceremony was joined by the bereaved family of the cleric, President Hassan Rouhani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Judiciary Chief Sadeq Amoli Larijani, and other government and military officials.
The event was also attended by Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Ja’afari, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Ammar al-Hakim as well as a number of other foreign dignitaries.
A defining figure in the 1979 victory of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Rafsanjani was the first head of Iran’s parliament before being elected as president for two consecutive terms.
He was also the chairman of the Expediency Council, a position he kept until his departure.