Domestic and International Reactions to the Death of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the most prominent political figures in Iran over the past few decades, passed away on Sunday, January 8, at the age of 82 due to a heart attack. Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani was transferred to Shahid Tajrish Hospital at 18:20 on Sunday with symptoms of a heart attack and was unconscious, but more than an hour of efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he died at 19:30. According to Fars News Agency, Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, the Minister of Health, responded on Tuesday to a journalist's question regarding the opposition's exploitation of his statements from the previous night, claiming that the medical team was not with Ayatollah Hashemi and that there were shortcomings in this regard, saying: "The opposition was wrong." The Minister of Health further stated that "the deceased himself did not want a medical team, and there is no doubt about it." According to IRNA, Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, is set to lead the funeral prayers for Hashemi Rafsanjani at Tehran University on Tuesday, January 10, and his body will be buried at the tomb of Ruhollah Khomeini. The Iranian government also announced a public holiday on Tuesday and declared three days of "public mourning." Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani played fundamental roles in establishing the Islamic Republic, the Iran-Iraq War, and presiding over the government, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Assembly of Experts, and the Expediency Discernment Council. His government is referred to as the "Construction Government" due to the volume of infrastructure projects, and he is said to have initiated extensive economic activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran. Although he later stated in an interview that "our agreement with the IRGC was for construction, not ownership." Rafsanjani's political positions have always been controversial, and some political activists or writers have criticized him as someone who faced repression or was targeted by security and intelligence forces during his presidency. Additionally, the name of the Minister of Intelligence during Rafsanjani's presidency, Ali Fallahian, has been mentioned in connection with serial killings and other deadly attacks against opponents. Rafsanjani has also faced accusations in foreign policy, such as being named alongside other suspects by Argentine prosecutors in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires. Furthermore, Mr. Rafsanjani, who was one of the closest individuals to the Supreme Leader for three decades, took positions in June 2009, just days before the presidential election, that led some close to the Supreme Leader to consider his stance as one of the grounds for the protests against that year's presidential election, labeling him as the "head of the sedition." The death of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Sunday has elicited reactions both inside and outside Iran: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, referred to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as his "comrade and companion" in a message, adding that "differences of opinion and different interpretations" never severed the "bond of friendship" between him and Mr. Hashemi. Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, and his government officials, Mohammad Khatami, the former president, and several other political figures of the Islamic Republic also issued messages of condolence shortly after Mr. Hashemi's death. In part of his condolence message, Mr. Rouhani stated, "He suffered greatly and was very loyal." Hashemi Rafsanjani was one of the most important supporters of Hassan Rouhani in the presidential election campaign of 2013. 220 members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly also wrote in a statement that "Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani was a stabilizing force for the system after the Islamic Revolution under the shadow of wisdom and rationality." Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, called Hashemi Rafsanjani a "tireless fighter and an influential figure in the ups and downs of the revolution," stating that "this incident is the inevitable fate of all human beings and especially a wake-up call for all of us in power to prepare ourselves for solitude and the infinite path after death." The daughters of Zahra Rahnavard and Mir Hossein Mousavi, leaders of the protests against the 2009 election who are under house arrest, stated in a message published by the Kaleme website, close to Mr. Mousavi, that "he passed away with a wounded heart due to the ruthless onslaught of accusations, insults, and much injustice he endured for his empathy with the people; however, these empathies will remain strong, clear, and effective." The family of Mehdi Karroubi, another leader of the protests who is under house arrest, expressed condolences and referred to the events following the election, stating that "Mr. Hashemi held important responsibilities after the revolution, but his turning point after the revolution can be seen in the events following the brutal crackdown of 2009, where he preferred to stay with the people over the ruling power." According to IRNA, Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, wrote in his condolence message that "Hashemi is the towering figure of the discourse of freedom and moderation in our extremist society." On the other hand, Maryam Rajavi, a leader of the "People's Mujahedin Organization," described Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani as one of the pillars of the Islamic Republic, stating that his absence would lead to the "collapse" of the political-military balance governing Iran. Internationally, several senior political figures from neighboring countries have also reacted to the death of the former president, expressing condolences and sorrow; the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, the President of Iraq, the Chief Executive of Afghanistan, and the Foreign Minister of Turkey are among them. Among other regional countries, the leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have sent condolence messages to Iranian officials, but according to Reuters, no message has yet been received from Saudi Arabia regarding this matter. Meanwhile, Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah Lebanon, stated in his condolence message that "we will not forget the positions of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, who always stood with us in all arenas and stages." A U.S. State Department official told Reuters that Hashemi Rafsanjani was a "significant figure" in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This official stated, "We extend our condolences to his family and loved ones." Unnamed officials in Europe and the United States told the Wall Street Journal that he "played an important role in mobilizing support for Hassan Rouhani, whose presence helped the nuclear agreement and efforts to improve relations with the West." A senior European official stated, "The current timing [of Hashemi Rafsanjani's death] is very bad timing." Among others who criticized him following the death of the head of the Expediency Discernment Council was Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a neoconservative think tank in Washington. He criticized what he described as the neglect of Hashemi Rafsanjani's "legacy," stating, "There is probably not enough space to express his campaign of terror, murder, nuclear lying, and corruption." Ian Bremmer, a political scientist and American head of the Eurasia Group, also stated that Hashemi Rafsanjani's "moderation" was "only limited to the clerical government in Iran and he was not a friend of the West... More importantly, he was not a friend of the Iranian people either.