Mohammad Hashemi: The Cause of My Brother's Death Was Not Assassination or Suffocation

Mohammad Hashemi, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, stated that his brother, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was neither "assassinated" nor suffered from "suffocation"; rather, the cause of his death was "cardiac arrest." In an interview with ISNA published on Wednesday, February 8, he said: "He was not assassinated; at the age of 82, he went to the swimming pool. Doctors also say that one should not go to the swimming pool in polluted air, but he went and suffered cardiac arrest." Mohammad Hashemi emphasized that his brother's bodyguards were "never" with him in the swimming pool and that he did not have a "medical team" accompanying him. He made these remarks in response to a question regarding the Minister of Health's comments on the night of Mr. Hashemi's death, where he stated that the absence of a medical team with the Ayatollah was negligence and even mentioned the existence of a medical file for the Ayatollah; however, the next night, he contradicted himself and said there was no medical file. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a founding figure of the Islamic Republic and a senior official in Iran for the past four decades, passed away on Sunday, January 8, 2017, at Tajrish Hospital in Tehran. His sudden death sparked many rumors about the possibility of an assassination attempt against him, although members of the Hashemi Rafsanjani family have denied this issue. Some statements from Islamic Republic officials, such as the Minister of Health, also contributed to the spread of this rumor. Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi had said at that time that there was "shortcoming" in the treatment of Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani and that a medical team was not with him. The Minister of Health later denied these statements. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was 82 years old at the time of his death and was the head of the Expediency Discernment Council.