mournful iranians attend funeral of former leader rafsanjani
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Mournful Iranians attend funeral of former leader Rafsanjani

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Mournful Iranians attend funeral of former leader Rafsanjani

Mournful Iranians attend funeral of former leader Rafsanjani
TEHRAN - Arab Today

Hundreds of thousands of mourners flooded the streets of Tehran on Tuesday, beating their chests and wailing in grief for the late Iranian leader Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died over the weekend at the age of 82.
The crowds filled main thoroughfares of the capital as top government and clerical officials held a funeral service at Tehran University. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei held prayers by Rafsanjani’s casket, as other dignitaries knelt before the coffin on which his white cleric’s turban was placed, reaching their hands out for one final embrace.
Just behind Khamenei was President Hassan Rouhani, whose moderate administration led the recent nuclear negotiations with world powers. Rouhani, who is all but certain to run for re-election in May, is viewed as embodying Rafsanjani’s realist vision.
Hard-liners also took part in the ceremony Tuesday, which was a public holiday across the country. Among them was Qassem Soleimani, a general who heads the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, which focuses on foreign operations like the war in Syria.
Both Soleimani and Rafsanjani are from Iran’s southeastern province of Kerman and worked together during the 1980s war against Iraq war.
Apparently banned from the funeral was former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, a reformist who remains popular among the young but is deeply disliked by hard-liners. State media have banned the broadcasting of any images of Khatami.
Outside, mourners carried posters bearing Rafsanjani’s image as his casket slowly made his way through the streets.
“I rarely attend religious ceremonies, but I am here as an Iranian who cannot forget Rafsanjani’s contribution to developing political sphere in favor of people in recent years,” said Nima Sheikhi, a computer teacher at a private school.
Nearby was cleric Reza Babaei from the eastern town of Birjand near Afghan border. “I am here to say goodbye to a man who dedicated his life to make Iran better,” Babaei said. “He founded the university in my city and developed our region when he was in power.”
Many in the crowds chanted that they would continue along Rafsanjani’s “path.”
The semi-official ILNA news agency said that on the sidelines of the funeral ceremony, prominent moderate lawmaker Ali Motahari was asked by several mourners to free opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi from house arrest the two have been under since 2011.
“Our message is clear, the house arrest should be lifted,” some chanted. The police and security forces did not react to the chants.
Rafsanjani’s casket was heading to the ornate, massive shrine of the late Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. There, he will be buried by the leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the rule of the American-backed shah.
Rafsanjani, a close aide to both Khomeini and Khamenei, served as president from 1989 to 1997.
His life mirrored Iran’s modern history. He served as the right-hand man of Khomeini. He led the military during the ruinous war with Iraq in the 1980s. He helped launch Iran’s nuclear program and then pushed for reconciliation with the West.
In the years after Khomeini’s 1989 death, Rafsanjani represented one of an ever-shrinking number of leaders directly tied to the Islamic Revolution.
Internally, however, his legacy remains mixed. He was massively wealthy and a veteran at maneuvering within Iran’s opaque political system.
He was considered a protector of the moderates, but many reformers distrusted him because he was such an insider and because of accusations he was involved in killing dissidents during his eight-year presidency, which he always denied. Hard-liners distrusted him because of his support of moderates and sought to sideline him, but he was too powerful and entrenched to be discounted.
___
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Source : Arab News

 

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

mournful iranians attend funeral of former leader rafsanjani mournful iranians attend funeral of former leader rafsanjani

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

mournful iranians attend funeral of former leader rafsanjani mournful iranians attend funeral of former leader rafsanjani

 



GMT 09:54 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

'Friendly and kind' N. Korean skaters

GMT 05:17 2024 Wednesday ,07 February

Amazon to open first cashierless shop

GMT 05:04 2024 Tuesday ,06 February

Skincare PR Performance Full Year 2017

GMT 19:57 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Farm-fresh from Kerala to the UAE, in just one day

GMT 10:08 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

Microsoft to open 4 data centres

GMT 10:55 2017 Thursday ,31 August

Labour reforms 'ambitious, balanced, fair'

GMT 08:13 2017 Sunday ,22 January

ADCB win Euromoney prize

GMT 10:54 2013 Saturday ,05 October

Cyrus infamous twerking performance at the MTV

GMT 03:02 2017 Thursday ,16 February

Unruly passenger forces PIA plane to land

GMT 14:38 2014 Tuesday ,25 March

17 killed in 2 attacks in Afghanistan

GMT 09:09 2016 Monday ,22 August

'Marvellous' Rio flames out

GMT 15:16 2016 Sunday ,25 December

Bird Flu in S. Korea Culls over 22 Million Poultry

GMT 13:35 2012 Thursday ,31 May

9 ways to sexually arouse your man

GMT 17:32 2017 Friday ,06 January

Leadership's initiatives are rooted in

GMT 18:35 2016 Thursday ,08 September

Tunisia calls for ban on Hizb ut-Tahrir
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice