IRNA � Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Sunday extended condolences to the Iranian nation on the demise of the late Chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Rafsanjani, 82, was hospitalized due to heart attack in a state-run hospital in the Iranian capital on Sunday.

Rafsanjani, a veteran Iranian cleric and politician served in different posts in the post-1979 Islamic Revolution era.

He was Iran's president between 1989 and 1997.